April 10, 2014:
It's incredible how much RJ has changed in the past month. He's almost 1 year adjusted.... (on approx. April 24th). We brought him home April 21st, so that will be the other most significant day in his life besides the day he was born. I'm not sure how we are going to celebrate, but we will do something special maybe the day before since daddy will be off. Some of my daily posts will be long b/c of all the activity this lil one is full of now. Enjoy...
Mar 12- RJ did some great standing up balancing acts today. He also had some gravity falls. He did some good belly scooting almost in a complete circle. It's funny how since we've been back home I haven't heard him say mama as much. He was saying it the most ever while at my moms. It was fun to hear runs of it :). When Robert came home this evening RJ was standing up at the kitchen table. I told him daddy was home and he leaned to the side trying to look around the corner. It was adorable!! He got a big smile on his face and tried reaching for daddy's face. Precious
Mar 13- RJ refused to take his afternoon nap while we had company. He sat in his swing talking for about 30 min before I picked him up. He had fun playing w/ his friend and even tried reading her some books. Now his belly is full again and he's zonked out on my lap:). He's so stinkin cute!! He was super smily and giggly when daddy came home. It was lots of fun. He was a wiggly worm at bedtime again. Ended up having Robert heat more milk. RJ took an extra 1.5 oz. He still wouldn't settle down in my lap so I laid him in his crib. He put himself to sleep for the first time!! Yikes!!
Mar 14- RJ had his PT eval this afternoon. Robert was able to get off work in time too. RJ did excellent. We have several exercises to work on. His flexer muscles need work. We will do exercises at home and meet once a wk w/ the therapist if all gets approved. I think RJ is sleeping better without his sleep sack. I haven't used it all wk. He's sleeping through the night again finally!! Whew... I thought this day would never come again.
Mar 15- RJ had his first swing and slide experience at the park!! Caught it on video and photo. He seemed to enjoy himself:). What a cutie!! Can't wait for it to really get warm. It was great having daddy come to SS and church w/ us too. We had an amazing sermon about praying for our children. We can't ever stop.
Mar 18- Well I've been putting baby food in RJ's milk to flavor it. I thought it would help w/ taste and pooping cause I would put in prunes. Not so. I had to give him a suppository on Sunday and Monday. We had complete results yesterday. Whew... Today I've started putting a few tsp of straight prune juice in his bottle. I sure hope this helps!! Grrr... RJ started the morning leaking through his diaper so had to change the sheet. Then this evening he ate part of his thick cardboard lamb and when Robert went to retrieve the pieces RJ vomited a lil which seeped through the crack of his tray onto his pants and chair. Then RJ pushed away the washcloth I was using and spread the vomit. I thought to myself, the only thing left is spitting up after eating his bottle. Wouldn't you know he was a pill at bedtime and was fidgeting. I had to reheat his first bottle of 4 oz so he would eat it all. Went down for more and once I started feeding him again he vomited some all over my hand, himself, and the blanket. Grrr!!! I got everything cleaned up and reheat the milk. Then he only ate an ounce yet was still super fidgety. So I kissed him goodnight and laid him down. He quickly went to sleep. Guess I'll save myself a lot of time and frustration tomorrow night and once the first bottle is finished, I'll place him in the crib and let him soothe himself to sleep. Whew... Kitchen is cleaned, bottles made, laundry in dryer, and I'm lying in bed. I'm exhausted.
Mar 19- Well I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but RJ has been sleeping about 11hrs a night!! We've taken the sleep sack away since coming home from our last vaca and I think he feels liberated:). He wakes a few times and cries when changing positions but I don't go in. Last night I did go in once to caress his face and talk softly to him. He cried about 10 min total before and after I left but put himself back to sleep:). Making progress in that dept. Getting ready to go into our first OT appt. I'm praying for some answers!!
Got a lot of good info from our OT appt. I got to let RJ get messy and explore his food and have him put more in his mouth to explore and push back his gag reflex to the normal place. RJ was a horrible bottle drinker so they could see yet played well for them. He proved he needs their assistance. I'm so thankful for the help. It's impressive how much stronger RJ has gotten in the past couple days. He's figuring out how his legs work!! He's officially stood up in his high chair and turned around w/ both Robert and I watching. Got to strap him in now!!
Mar 20- RJ the past couple mornings has tried pulling the bottle to his mouth. This morning he held on the longest. I think we are making progress. I caved this morning and decided to hold RJ for his nap instead of being productive:). He's growing up so fast, I need to treasure these moments.
Mar 21- RJ officially can pull himself up from a sitting position to standing in his room!! He just sat down for the first time from the stand on position!! He's reaching better to the side when in the crawling position. Not rolling from back to side or rotating trunk consistently. Making improvements though!! RJ was kissing his reflection in the mirror. So cute!! Oh and he smiles and talks when he sees himself in the mirror too:).
Mar 22- RJ's really getting the hang of holding his own bottle:). We took a nice walk in the park w/ friends. Now RJ's been talking up a storm and laughing at himself in the car mirror. It's hilarious!!
Mar 23- RJ decided to begin his morning at 5:40am on a Sunday!! I tried getting him back to sleep but he wasn't having it. After I fed him he did fall back asleep in the chair w/ me. He had a couple vomit episodes that landed both of us in the tub. Mercy what a morning. Whew... I've managed to get a few things done, but now that he's more mobile, I have to re think how to get chores done around the house again. Well to end the day on a positive note, r held his bottle for the first time and drank all 4 oz!!! It finally clicked to tip the bottle up so milk comes out the nipple!! Amazing!!
Mar 25- overall it's been a pretty good day. We've had snow off and on all day. The sun would melt it and then it would come back. RJ didn't seem interested in the snow. He's had lots of small poops today and once again his bottom is incredibly raw. I'd given him a suppository yesterday and thought he was done, but not so. I'm hoping his bottom can heal over night. We have the NICU appt tomorrow morning. RJ's held his bottle for most feedings today, yet I have to help him finish sometimes. It's amazing how distracted I have to get him sometimes just to finish his bottle. I do what it takes to get the ounces down. I hope he's gained weight from last NICU visit.
Mar 26- RJ had a very busy morning. We had a f/u NICU grad clinic appt that they ended up combining w/ his 1yr adjusted visit so we don't have to come back next month:). They did some extensive developmental testing and he's about where they expected due to his preemie status and all he's been through. He's got PT and OT in the works and then we got a script to add feeding therapy. That eval is set up for next Monday the 30th. He's too dependent on the bottle right now and we need the tools to transition off the bottle in the next couple months. Overall they are happy w/ his progress and growth. We got a script for miralax to see if that helps his constipation issues. Last couple wks I've had to give him suppositories. Other than RJ being a lil more whiny after only 50 min worth of naps today he's as cute as ever!!:). He's been having lil poops even after the suppository wore off on Monday so I can't get his diaper rash cleared up!! So frustrating!! Poor lil guy cries every time he poos!! Got a funny video of RJ talking to himself in the mirror. Not sure if he kissed the mirror when I took the video or not. He gets such a big kick out of it. With all the activity of today RJ only got 50 min worth of naps. He didn't mess around at bedtime and went to bed easy. I hope he gets some solid sleep tonight. I sure need it. :)
Mar 27- So this morning RJ was moving and fell forward trying to reach something. I left him on his belly to see what he'd do. He fussed and while I was out of the room somehow he got to a sitting position!! He's started making these really loud noises when on the floor in the kitchen. Not sure if he's just finding his voice or trying to get my attention:).
Mar 28- RJ has been perfecting his scoot instead of a crawl. It's funny. We took a short ride this afternoon and and RJ looked out the window almost the entire time taking in the sights of town. I'm thinking he might last longer on trips if the outdoors can keep him entertained while we drive.
Mar 29- I just saw RJ go from a belly position to a sitting position so by himself!!! RJ took my fingers and went to the stairs and wanted to walk down all them!!
Mar 30- RJ wanted to walk down the stairs again today:). It's so adorable.
Mar 31- What a day!!! RJ decided he didn't need his morning nap or yo eat full bottles a day. We had his feeding therapy appt early afternoon. He was starving, so he was pretty cooperative in doing the different exercises. The speech therapist came up w/ a plan which she will email to me. He has a lot of good skills already, yet there are things he needs help working through. I felt positive after the visit. I'm glad I left early today cause I walked yo the wrong building and had to race back the opposite direction. We got there w/ minutes to spare plus the therapist was late. Overall RJ has only had 20 min worth of naps. He was super giddy tonight and then crashed. I couldn't even coach him to finish his bottle. I'm hoping he'll sleep all night despite not eating as much today. He was pooping all afternoon. Wish he could just ret it out in one chunk. We stopped to see Robert on our way home after our appt. RJ's eyes lite up and he smiled and laughed a lil. He was so excited to see him. It was precious. Now I must muster up enough strength to clean up the kitchen. Oh RJ drank water from a cup today for the first time!! So adorable!!
April 1- gave RJ miralax in his first couple bottles and he had a super rough day. Every so often he'd start crying cause of the stomach pains. He did have lots of small poos and finally late afternoon/evening he had two solid poos. Thankfully he was able to get a full nights sleep. We went to drop off food to a fellow resident and his wife. They just had a baby a few wks ago. We had a nice walk w/ the babies and then afterwards RJ got up close to the babies rocker and touched her head and arm. It was super sweet. That's the first time he's really been around someone smaller than him.
April 2- today has been much better!! He's had diarrhea almost after every morning feed. I'm hoping the miralax has helped to jump start his system. If he doesn't poo tomorrow I'll give another half dose on Friday. He can't tolerate a full dose!! We had about an hr walk today all around our neighborhood. It was perfect weather. RJ seemed to enjoy it till the end. He had two good naps today and now we are at his f/u OT appt that will be on Wed afternoons at 4:30pm. Not sure for how long. As I've been typing this RJ has been giggling and making all kinds of racket. Super funny boy:). RJ wiggled all over the place at bedtime. He did this sniffing thing like he was going to forget my scent.
April 3- today has been good yet busy. RJ only had one nap. A friend was over this afternoon and he wanted to keep playing. It's so funny to see him scoot all over the house. Well I say that loosely. He hasn't wondered off too far yet:). He did good w/ his oral exercises and eating his puffs. We got to face time w/ his great-grandma McLennan this evening. He was having a hard time eating his milk at bedtime and was falling asleep. Then out of no where he sits up and starts talking. He played w/ my phone while he finished his milk. Then wiggles all over the place and sniffed me again. Finally he fell asleep in a weird position on my chest. He's so goofy. Love him to pieces!! I think RJ waved good bye today. It almost looked like he was doing it yesterday at the store, but he did the same thing today when our friend left. So adorable!! It's a whole arm/limp hand wave.
April 7- We made quite the walking trip downstairs. He wanted to stop and touch everything. We walked in circles at the top of the stairs and at the bottom. It was so funny:). We finally made it to the kitchen where he is scoot crawling like a champ chasing his blue cup:). I've been adjusting RJ's miralax dose starting small and working up till he pooped good. Today he got 3 tsp and had 3 good poops. Last one was in the tub. Past 3 days he's had a poo in the tub. It's pretty annoying to clean up but at least he's pooping! Past couple days I've made sure he gets a good morning nap and then I push him to skip the afternoon nap. He's been staying awake longer between naps. Plus he's getting about 11 hrs of sleep at night too. His appetite for the bottle was way down today. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow. He's such a mover now. Guess it wears him out easier. He's zonked out in my arms right now. He couldn't even finish his bottle. He ate his puffs really well today. So proud of him!!
April 8- So RJ scoot/crawled out of his room today and acted like he'd go down the hallway. Guess it's time to put up the gates!! We even saw him put both feet behind him and crawl like normal:). I've been helping RJ skip his afternoon nap to help him sleep better at night. It's working!! He was so tired tonight I was able to feed him and put him down in 15min!! I got a few extra things done around the house and I'm in bed early!!
April 9- RJ loves to see himself in the mirror and laughs up a storm. He cracks himself up. So cute!! RJ walked down the steps w/ my assistance to the landing and was playing. Then he was ready to move and started head first down the stairs. Of course I was right there to grab him. He also left the kitchen today and crawled/scooted to the dining room. He was fascinated w/ the exercise bike. RJ wanted to eat both times we came to the kitchen like me. He's catching on. Still only wanting his puff foods. I put a carrot stick in my mouth and he would grab it and put it back in my mouth a couple times. He played w/ it and threw it on the floor. RJ had a great PT/OT visit. He's even rolling over in his sleep right now. If we could only get him doing those moves when he's awake:).
April 10- RJ was restless last night and moving all around. We saw him laying on his back before we went to bed and he was that way when we woke up. RJ decided to wake up at 6:50AM and was standing in the corner by the baby monitor looking at it. I took some pics. He was on his stomach when he woke up so it was easy to sit up and pull himself up on the side of the bed. I'm so glad I put the baby monitor up on the shelf earlier this week, otherwise he would have thrown it down I'm sure. He so much more determined to walk everywhere and especially down the stairs. If he wants to turn left or right, he will move you that way. He made it known he wanted to eat at the table all 3 times today. He wouldn't eat the pears off his spoon, but it somehow made it in his mouth attached to his other foods on his tray. He was curious when I was Swiffering the floor around him this afternoon. He kept turing around in circles watching me. When I was cooking he was following me around the kitchen. When I open the fridge door, he quickly scoots/crawls to it. He's fascinated by all the containers in the door. This afternoon I took him outside bare footed and let him feel the grass for the first time. He stayed in one place and didn't want to move. This evening we did it again, but he stayed in one place. I bought him some sunglasses that have a stretchy strap. I had him wear them outside this evening while the sun was still bright. He looked adorable. I wasn't able to get a pic. Tonight in the tub I was holding a cup full of water above RJ's head and letting it pour out slowly. He got the biggest kick out of that. He was trying to hold the water. Robert got it on video. He's so curious and wanting to feel and test everything out as he's going by. It's amazing how much he's developing all of a sudden.
