September 24, 2013 Take 2:
Here's RJ grabbing those cute feet. I kept trying to get
him to look at me when taking the picture, but he
was transfixed on something else way
more important I guess. :)
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
September 24, 2013:
RJ and I are currently on the floor in the living room. RJ is batting all his lil toys around while grabbing his toes. He's making all sorts of grunts and gagging noises. Yes, I have to remind him over and over again not to gag himself. He loves to talk now and make himself known. This morning I had a couple plastic rings on his mat. While I wasn't looking he put one around each arm. It was hilarious!! What a goof ball. Later on he had taken them both off. He's getting better coordinated with his hands. This morning after heating up his bottle I was picking it up to carry both him and the bottle up the stairs. He instinctively grabbed the bottle in both his hands and helped me. It was so cute. He started this week to deliberately try and hold the bottle and bring it to his mouth. He gets frustrated when he can't get it right and I end up feeding him. :)
Right before bedtime on his changing table he talks up a storm. Typically every other night is bath time. He has started in the past couple weeks to start talking like crazy during the bath. He wiggles to the right side of the bath chair and hangs his feet over the edge and kicks in the water. He grabs his feet and makes all sorts of noise. He's getting so expressive.
Well I have officially put the pumping station to sleep. That segment of my mommy duties has come to an end. The lil guy has stopped completely and I value my time with him during the day and sleep at night. I'm very thankful for the time I was able to give him all the good nutrients needed at the beginning to help him grow. I'm blessed to have experienced the breastfeeding of our son as well. Here's hoping next time my milk will come in quicker and more plentiful and I will be able to keep up with our lil one. Don't worry, we are not planning on trying any time soon. I haven't fully recovered form this pregnancy/delivery.
We had a Grad Clinic appt last week. It went very well!! We saw a new doc, Dr. Cunningham, who fills in sometimes. He doesn't do wards at the hospital anymore. I was super impressed with him and his knowledge. He had excellent bedside manners. He jumped from gaining about 16 grams per day to 24 grams per day!! He is almost touching the bottom of the regular curve. His head is on the bottom of the regular curve now and his height is right on track. Next month will be a big visit. RJ will have a lot of testing done for developmental stuff. Also we will get a plan for starting solids. Remember me writing how they start meats first, well we will have a vegetarian menu for RJ. :) I got the reasoning behind no jumpers/bumbo seats/exerciser seats/etc. Turns out they are not recommended for RJ period since he was born so early. It would be ok if he was 34 wks or beyond. He has a lot of catching up to do with is pelvic growth and those contraptions cause his legs to be in a splayed position which can hinder proper growth and affect his walking later. So, the play mat will be his best friend for now! They will do extensive developmental testing again at 1,2, & 3 years.
RJ is around the 12 lb mark and doing great. Now that the weather is changing and we are entering the sniffle season, we need extra prayers that RJ will stay free of sickness!! We don't want our lil one getting any bad infections.
Thanks again for all your prayers, love, and support!! We greatly appreciate them all.
RJ and I are currently on the floor in the living room. RJ is batting all his lil toys around while grabbing his toes. He's making all sorts of grunts and gagging noises. Yes, I have to remind him over and over again not to gag himself. He loves to talk now and make himself known. This morning I had a couple plastic rings on his mat. While I wasn't looking he put one around each arm. It was hilarious!! What a goof ball. Later on he had taken them both off. He's getting better coordinated with his hands. This morning after heating up his bottle I was picking it up to carry both him and the bottle up the stairs. He instinctively grabbed the bottle in both his hands and helped me. It was so cute. He started this week to deliberately try and hold the bottle and bring it to his mouth. He gets frustrated when he can't get it right and I end up feeding him. :)
Right before bedtime on his changing table he talks up a storm. Typically every other night is bath time. He has started in the past couple weeks to start talking like crazy during the bath. He wiggles to the right side of the bath chair and hangs his feet over the edge and kicks in the water. He grabs his feet and makes all sorts of noise. He's getting so expressive.
Well I have officially put the pumping station to sleep. That segment of my mommy duties has come to an end. The lil guy has stopped completely and I value my time with him during the day and sleep at night. I'm very thankful for the time I was able to give him all the good nutrients needed at the beginning to help him grow. I'm blessed to have experienced the breastfeeding of our son as well. Here's hoping next time my milk will come in quicker and more plentiful and I will be able to keep up with our lil one. Don't worry, we are not planning on trying any time soon. I haven't fully recovered form this pregnancy/delivery.
We had a Grad Clinic appt last week. It went very well!! We saw a new doc, Dr. Cunningham, who fills in sometimes. He doesn't do wards at the hospital anymore. I was super impressed with him and his knowledge. He had excellent bedside manners. He jumped from gaining about 16 grams per day to 24 grams per day!! He is almost touching the bottom of the regular curve. His head is on the bottom of the regular curve now and his height is right on track. Next month will be a big visit. RJ will have a lot of testing done for developmental stuff. Also we will get a plan for starting solids. Remember me writing how they start meats first, well we will have a vegetarian menu for RJ. :) I got the reasoning behind no jumpers/bumbo seats/exerciser seats/etc. Turns out they are not recommended for RJ period since he was born so early. It would be ok if he was 34 wks or beyond. He has a lot of catching up to do with is pelvic growth and those contraptions cause his legs to be in a splayed position which can hinder proper growth and affect his walking later. So, the play mat will be his best friend for now! They will do extensive developmental testing again at 1,2, & 3 years.
RJ is around the 12 lb mark and doing great. Now that the weather is changing and we are entering the sniffle season, we need extra prayers that RJ will stay free of sickness!! We don't want our lil one getting any bad infections.
Thanks again for all your prayers, love, and support!! We greatly appreciate them all.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
September 15, 2013:
Well Football season has commenced and RJ had his first Sunday watching football on the couch with daddy last week. It was adorable. He seemed real into it as well. :) Turns out it was the best entertainment for cutting his fingernails as well. Who knew!!
Last week was eventful for RJ. He was playing on his activity mat one morning batting at the animals and mirror attached to the arch like crazy. It was funny, so I decided to video it. All of a sudden he got hold of one of the sides of the arch and ever so slowly pulled the whole arch on top of himself! It startled him at first and then he gave me smiles. I was laughing so hard. He hasn't done it since though. :) Always something new with him. Keeps us on our toes.
This past week he also found his toes. He likes to grab them with is left hand. We are trying to figure out whether he's going to be a left or right-handed baby. :) He tends to bat all the toys on his arch with his left hand too. We shall see. I'm left-handed and Robert is mostly right-handed, but does a few things with is left.
I'm happy to say that RJ is sleeping through the night on a pretty regular basis!! He has been waking up around 7am which is perfect for my morning routine. Seems that RJ has gotten really into his home routine and being in his familiar surroundings. We've been down at my moms this weekend so RJ could meet my cousin John and he's been a lot more fussy and waking up an hr earlier. Ugh... I tried leaving earlier in the day on Thursday to drive down and it took me an extra hr b/c we had to stop twice to change his diaper and feed him. It didn't help that we had to take a detour due to the on ramp being closed without my knowing and a torrential downpour in Knoxville. Oh bother... Oh well maybe going home tomorrow morning will be a lil easier. :) It sure makes it easier to have a 2nd person in the vehicle on these long trips. :)
Friday night after giving RJ a bath I was letting him play while we FaceTimed daddy. When Robert got to the point of saying goodnight and that he loved RJ, RJ all of a sudden broke out in loud talking. He was talking up a storm telling daddy something. It was so adorable. Robert tried saying goodnight a couple times and RJ would start up again talking. He's finding his voice for sure!!!
Well on a sadder note, I believe RJ has officially weaned himself from breastfeeding... It's slowly been happening over the past couple months. :( I'm blessed to have been able to give him my milk for so long. He's growing big and strong and that's all that matters now. :) I'm blessed to of even been able to experience the precious time of breastfeeding. I'm lucky RJ even latched on and enjoyed it. So many preemies get nipple confusion and end up just liking the bottles. He still loves to snuggle and fall asleep on my chest, so I will cherish every moment I get.
RJ is up to the 12 pound mark!! He's growing by leaps and bounds. It's so fun to see all the changes. He's really into holding onto our hands and standing up. He gets the biggest smile on his face. :) I wish he would roll more. He does it randomly. He's getting pretty good at scooting on his back though in combination with his hip thrusts. Last night he ended up turing 180 degrees in the bed. I laid him down horizontal in the pack n play and he woke up vertical. I guess he's just moving and progressing on his own schedule. I'm still totally in love with the lil guy.
We go to the NICU Grad clinic on Wednesday this week. We shall see how impressed they are with his weight gain. I'm hoping that he blows them away and gets closer to the normal weight curve on the growth chart. Keeping our fingers crossed!!
Thanks again for all your love, prayers, and support!! Keep 'em coming!!
Well Football season has commenced and RJ had his first Sunday watching football on the couch with daddy last week. It was adorable. He seemed real into it as well. :) Turns out it was the best entertainment for cutting his fingernails as well. Who knew!!
Last week was eventful for RJ. He was playing on his activity mat one morning batting at the animals and mirror attached to the arch like crazy. It was funny, so I decided to video it. All of a sudden he got hold of one of the sides of the arch and ever so slowly pulled the whole arch on top of himself! It startled him at first and then he gave me smiles. I was laughing so hard. He hasn't done it since though. :) Always something new with him. Keeps us on our toes.
This past week he also found his toes. He likes to grab them with is left hand. We are trying to figure out whether he's going to be a left or right-handed baby. :) He tends to bat all the toys on his arch with his left hand too. We shall see. I'm left-handed and Robert is mostly right-handed, but does a few things with is left.
I'm happy to say that RJ is sleeping through the night on a pretty regular basis!! He has been waking up around 7am which is perfect for my morning routine. Seems that RJ has gotten really into his home routine and being in his familiar surroundings. We've been down at my moms this weekend so RJ could meet my cousin John and he's been a lot more fussy and waking up an hr earlier. Ugh... I tried leaving earlier in the day on Thursday to drive down and it took me an extra hr b/c we had to stop twice to change his diaper and feed him. It didn't help that we had to take a detour due to the on ramp being closed without my knowing and a torrential downpour in Knoxville. Oh bother... Oh well maybe going home tomorrow morning will be a lil easier. :) It sure makes it easier to have a 2nd person in the vehicle on these long trips. :)
Friday night after giving RJ a bath I was letting him play while we FaceTimed daddy. When Robert got to the point of saying goodnight and that he loved RJ, RJ all of a sudden broke out in loud talking. He was talking up a storm telling daddy something. It was so adorable. Robert tried saying goodnight a couple times and RJ would start up again talking. He's finding his voice for sure!!!
Well on a sadder note, I believe RJ has officially weaned himself from breastfeeding... It's slowly been happening over the past couple months. :( I'm blessed to have been able to give him my milk for so long. He's growing big and strong and that's all that matters now. :) I'm blessed to of even been able to experience the precious time of breastfeeding. I'm lucky RJ even latched on and enjoyed it. So many preemies get nipple confusion and end up just liking the bottles. He still loves to snuggle and fall asleep on my chest, so I will cherish every moment I get.
RJ is up to the 12 pound mark!! He's growing by leaps and bounds. It's so fun to see all the changes. He's really into holding onto our hands and standing up. He gets the biggest smile on his face. :) I wish he would roll more. He does it randomly. He's getting pretty good at scooting on his back though in combination with his hip thrusts. Last night he ended up turing 180 degrees in the bed. I laid him down horizontal in the pack n play and he woke up vertical. I guess he's just moving and progressing on his own schedule. I'm still totally in love with the lil guy.
We go to the NICU Grad clinic on Wednesday this week. We shall see how impressed they are with his weight gain. I'm hoping that he blows them away and gets closer to the normal weight curve on the growth chart. Keeping our fingers crossed!!
Thanks again for all your love, prayers, and support!! Keep 'em coming!!
Friday, September 6, 2013
Photo Book
Here is the photo book I recently completed of our journey throughout the hospitalization and the first few months home. Enjoy!!
Build your own high-quality photo books at Shutterfly.com.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
September 4, 2013:
I was unable to finish my post on Sabbath afternoon for some reason. I've already forgotten. Robert was off the rest of the weekend, so we seemed to keep ourselves busy with having family time. Robert actually got to see RJ in his better morning moods. By the time he comes home in the afternoon/evening RJ is more tired and fussy. His golden fussy time is between 5-8pm before bedtime.
I was in the middle of telling my story from Sabbath when my blog page ran out of space to write. Anyways, Robert got soaked having to repark the truck and bring in the diaper bag. RJ and I remained relatively dry under the big umbrella I'd found at Meyers. I forgot to mention to bring in the milk bag, so once the rain stopped he went out for that. It's easier to pre-mix RJ's bottles since it has to be to a specific calorie count. I have to mix 8 ounces at a time in a big bottle. Currently he only drinks about 3 oz at a time. Anyways, RJ was super alert during Sabbath school taking everything in. By the end he was hungry. I had brought the bottle warmer this time since we were going to be at church longer. He ate great and then ended up falling asleep during church. As the sanctuary was clearing out RJ started getting hungry again. So I went to the back of the sanctuary and plugged in the bottle warmer. I'm sure it was quite the site, me holding the bottle warmer heating up the milk in church. Oh well, what we do for our picky children. :) I'm hoping our next child won't need the bottles and extra warm milk if we do use them. That NICU spoiled our child... Later in the afternoon we were able to take a family nap in our bed. It was fantastic!!!
Last evening right before Robert came home RJ and I were sitting on the couch. He was nawing on my fingers and would stop and stare at me intently. Then he would go back to nawing. He kept doing this back and forth. It was quite funny and I was laughing. Robert came home and walked over to say hi during the staring part. When Robert said hello to RJ, the lil guy let out a super loud scream. It was the craziest thing. He calmed down and eventually went to daddy. Wish I knew what that lil guy was thinking. :)
RJ has started this naptime routine where he will fall asleep in my arms after feeding and rocking. I'll get ready to place him into his bed. As soon as I start walking away he will open his eyes and just stare at me and smile. I'll pick him up and he will act like he's falling back to sleep again. He's a mess. He's currently making all sorts of grunts and wiggling around after only a 30 min nap. Yep, that's his new routine. He will at some point look at the monitor and bat his eyes. What a mess. So much for being productive.
I don't remember if I mentioned that I finally finished going through all of RJ's pictures from the time I went into the hopsital till he came home and through some of his major vacations this summer. I put them into a shutterfly book and it is now finished being edited. Whew... I briefly went through the book I made from the time we got pregnant through Christmas. Little did I know that I wouldn't be able to make a second pregnancy/delivery book. Crazy what life throws our way.
I feel very blessed to have such a special lil boy. He's changing every day and growing into such a cutie. We don't know what the future holds, but I'm enjoying every happy moment we have now. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with him at this point. I wouldn't want any other person constantly taking care of our lil boy.
Well Robert is on his most difficult month of residency, cardio-thoracic anesthesia. He has early mornings and late evenings. The good thing is he's off most weekends this month, so it makes it more bearable. He's a good man and works hard. Love him to pieces. :)
Once again thank you so much for all the support, love, and prayers. They are all paying off. Our lil man is growing up so big. He'll be as tall as me before we know it. Ok, he's to the whinning stage now. Enough of self entertainment. I must go. :)
I was unable to finish my post on Sabbath afternoon for some reason. I've already forgotten. Robert was off the rest of the weekend, so we seemed to keep ourselves busy with having family time. Robert actually got to see RJ in his better morning moods. By the time he comes home in the afternoon/evening RJ is more tired and fussy. His golden fussy time is between 5-8pm before bedtime.
I was in the middle of telling my story from Sabbath when my blog page ran out of space to write. Anyways, Robert got soaked having to repark the truck and bring in the diaper bag. RJ and I remained relatively dry under the big umbrella I'd found at Meyers. I forgot to mention to bring in the milk bag, so once the rain stopped he went out for that. It's easier to pre-mix RJ's bottles since it has to be to a specific calorie count. I have to mix 8 ounces at a time in a big bottle. Currently he only drinks about 3 oz at a time. Anyways, RJ was super alert during Sabbath school taking everything in. By the end he was hungry. I had brought the bottle warmer this time since we were going to be at church longer. He ate great and then ended up falling asleep during church. As the sanctuary was clearing out RJ started getting hungry again. So I went to the back of the sanctuary and plugged in the bottle warmer. I'm sure it was quite the site, me holding the bottle warmer heating up the milk in church. Oh well, what we do for our picky children. :) I'm hoping our next child won't need the bottles and extra warm milk if we do use them. That NICU spoiled our child... Later in the afternoon we were able to take a family nap in our bed. It was fantastic!!!
Last evening right before Robert came home RJ and I were sitting on the couch. He was nawing on my fingers and would stop and stare at me intently. Then he would go back to nawing. He kept doing this back and forth. It was quite funny and I was laughing. Robert came home and walked over to say hi during the staring part. When Robert said hello to RJ, the lil guy let out a super loud scream. It was the craziest thing. He calmed down and eventually went to daddy. Wish I knew what that lil guy was thinking. :)
RJ has started this naptime routine where he will fall asleep in my arms after feeding and rocking. I'll get ready to place him into his bed. As soon as I start walking away he will open his eyes and just stare at me and smile. I'll pick him up and he will act like he's falling back to sleep again. He's a mess. He's currently making all sorts of grunts and wiggling around after only a 30 min nap. Yep, that's his new routine. He will at some point look at the monitor and bat his eyes. What a mess. So much for being productive.
I don't remember if I mentioned that I finally finished going through all of RJ's pictures from the time I went into the hopsital till he came home and through some of his major vacations this summer. I put them into a shutterfly book and it is now finished being edited. Whew... I briefly went through the book I made from the time we got pregnant through Christmas. Little did I know that I wouldn't be able to make a second pregnancy/delivery book. Crazy what life throws our way.
I feel very blessed to have such a special lil boy. He's changing every day and growing into such a cutie. We don't know what the future holds, but I'm enjoying every happy moment we have now. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with him at this point. I wouldn't want any other person constantly taking care of our lil boy.
Well Robert is on his most difficult month of residency, cardio-thoracic anesthesia. He has early mornings and late evenings. The good thing is he's off most weekends this month, so it makes it more bearable. He's a good man and works hard. Love him to pieces. :)
Once again thank you so much for all the support, love, and prayers. They are all paying off. Our lil man is growing up so big. He'll be as tall as me before we know it. Ok, he's to the whinning stage now. Enough of self entertainment. I must go. :)
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