Hey World! We're still here.... Though we have gotten quite busy! I have not forgotten about posting, just all but forgotten about posting. Once I give a quick drive by of what has been happening since the end of July I'm sure you'll understand!
I think we started August at a sprint. Samuel had been sleeping through the night or waking only once in July, but a trip to Minnesota for a wedding, some diaper rash and 6 month shots all kind of stopped that I think. It would not have been soo bad on his sleep, but once we were making progress I started teaching an online class.
To sum up my experience as an online teacher was that overall I really did enjoy it. Now my first time doing it was rather trying... During the second week I got Hand/Foot/Mouth Disease and doing anything with my hands and feet caused me pain. I could not walk well, I could not change diapers and I definitely could not type. I emailed (by that I mean pecking out the email with the least pained fingers) the class coordinator because of course this happened the weekend before Week 2 of an 8 week course. Great way to start teaching, with a sub during the second week!
Needing a substitute teacher in my class really threw me off. I was just starting to figure out what it was I was doing and then I was knocked out miserably sick. So it took me a while to get my feet fully under me again and I pretty much was working the class at a sprint until the end. Then throw in a parent that was difficult to work with and I was ecstatic for the class to be over. Thankfully it was a rather unusual term and I know that. It is not scaring me away from teaching online again. I look forward to a (more than likely) better experience next go, but for my sanity I took this term off!
When I was sick we had to call in back up! My poor husband was getting quite drained from taking care of Samuel (even though we nurse it really hurt my hands to latch him, so Ben even had to latch him for me so I could feed him), taking care of me and trying to keep up at work. So we called my Mom after a few days of the misery and she really helped loosen up Ben's time and everyone was happier.
Of course the days she got here she comments, "So Samuel got a tooth!" And I responded with something like, "Uh... Yeah... He got a tooth!?!?!?" With how the week was going we didn't even notice it sneak it. We're guessing it came on August 22nd or 23rd, she noticed it on the 23rd. About two weeks later he got his second tooth (so now he has two bottom front teeth). Honestly the teething leading up to the teething actually cutting through wasn't that bad (this time around, we'll see what happens next time!).
We also started Samuel on solids. First we did rice cereal for about 2 weeks, which he gobbled up. Then we gave him oatmeal and he refused to have anything more to do with rice, because oatmeal is much tastier. Then we gave him banana, which he loved. Moved onto peas next, then sweet potato and then apple. All of which he thought was the best thing invented since milk (have I ever mentioned Samuel's favorite activity in all the world is eating?). Next we gave him avocado, which was definitely not a hit. In fact he got VERY grumpy during the 2 days we tried to feed him some. So we stopped and he instantly became happy again! Then we did butternut squash, which he wasn't fond of by itself, but mixed with apples he thinks its just fabulous! Finally we have introduced him to pears, which was also a hit. I have zucchini and pumpkin waiting to be made into baby food, so those will be the next ones (I plan on getting the zucchini ready yet today for tomorrow, we'll see if that happens). He's starting to get so many different foods that he doesn't zoom through what I make in less than a week now.
Of course he likes eating so much that I am going to ask his Doctor as his appointment on Wednesday about 3 meals a day instead of 2 and if we should start adding meats. From when solids really started getting going (which I would say was when we did sweet potato first) he has really been packing on the weight. Last week at Mommy and Me (did I say I go to a weekly play group with Samuel?) he weight 13# 9oz, but that was with his cloth diaper on, so he probably was just over 13# (not real sure how heavy the diaper is). Wednesday we'll know his naked weight, then Thursday is Mommy and Me again, so I can get a rough estimate of the weight of the diaper.
Also at the end of September we made a trip back to Nebraska to visit Ben's Mom. We were going to go on to Colorado and maybe Wyoming, but with how stressed I was between a son that wasn't sleeping and sprinting to keep up with my online class, we did a much shorter trip. Hopefully we can do the longer trip soon, because I was definitely bummed to not do it all.
This weekend Samuel and I are heading to my cousin's son's baptism in Milwaukee then the following weekend we'll be doing Thanksgiving with my side of the family at our house, so I am headed into another busy month! Also I am still working on my German I course that I will be teaching with the Wittenburg Academy starting the end of November. It's an online classical Lutheran high school. I'm very excited to be teaching with them!
Anyways I have a few more posts I want to write before I leave town for the weekend, so expect another post from me in the near future. For now that is a quick run down of the last months' activities! Oh and we have really been working hard on Samuel's routine since my class has ended and since we have gotten him back on it, he has been ridiculously happy and a solid sleeper!
29 October 2012
27 July 2012
Happy 6/3 Month Birthday Sam!
So today is a BIG day! Sam turned 6 months today and he turns 3 months old tomorrow. We are happy to also announce that we have a very healthy normal baby! Last Tuesday (after driving back from Fort Wayne on Monday) we went in to have a post NICU developmental check. He checked out great! Nothing too unusual came up, which I count as a win. The one thing we have to watch out for is how he holds his head. He does a fantastic job at holding his head up... tilted to the left. They found that he has some tight muscles on that side of his neck because of it, so now we get to do some stretches to help him fix that.
They weren't really worried about it though. They said that babies that tend to favor one side like that (in Sam's case the left side) tend to also have issues turning their heads completely both directions, which is something Samuel did just fine with. So as long as we are stretching him and encouraging him to hold his head straight, it should be something that corrects fairly quickly. If it's not working we might have to explore different avenues to correct it.
We have not seen any rolling over as of yet and no, he's not crawling. But that's fine! I'm sure before we know it we'll be chasing him around the house and wishing he weren't doing any of those things! At this point, neither of those are reasons to think he's behind developmentally, he's doing just fine, and I'm sure he'll start them both soon enough.
He has started to enjoy standing on his feet when you're holding him. Normally he only ever did it when he's angry (what baby does when they're angry?). Now he's starting to do it from time to time when he's not angry!
They told us Samuel will probably start squealing more and sure enough I think we've heard him squeal more this week than ever before! It's like he was waiting for permission! ;-)
To celebrate Samuel's birthday my Mom is coming out for a visit! Ok, maybe she just happens to be coming now... Regardless she's driving out here. We're going to have someone watch Sam while we go get massages. Something I practically never do, but there was a groupon for a really good price!
I think he's decided to nap really well today to celebrate. He hasn't seemed to nap well in the last few weeks, but his night sleep has been fantastic!
We'll take a photo with the bunny today, then you'll really be able to see the difference!
They weren't really worried about it though. They said that babies that tend to favor one side like that (in Sam's case the left side) tend to also have issues turning their heads completely both directions, which is something Samuel did just fine with. So as long as we are stretching him and encouraging him to hold his head straight, it should be something that corrects fairly quickly. If it's not working we might have to explore different avenues to correct it.
We have not seen any rolling over as of yet and no, he's not crawling. But that's fine! I'm sure before we know it we'll be chasing him around the house and wishing he weren't doing any of those things! At this point, neither of those are reasons to think he's behind developmentally, he's doing just fine, and I'm sure he'll start them both soon enough.
He has started to enjoy standing on his feet when you're holding him. Normally he only ever did it when he's angry (what baby does when they're angry?). Now he's starting to do it from time to time when he's not angry!
They told us Samuel will probably start squealing more and sure enough I think we've heard him squeal more this week than ever before! It's like he was waiting for permission! ;-)
To celebrate Samuel's birthday my Mom is coming out for a visit! Ok, maybe she just happens to be coming now... Regardless she's driving out here. We're going to have someone watch Sam while we go get massages. Something I practically never do, but there was a groupon for a really good price!
I think he's decided to nap really well today to celebrate. He hasn't seemed to nap well in the last few weeks, but his night sleep has been fantastic!
We'll take a photo with the bunny today, then you'll really be able to see the difference!
 |
| Sam at less than a week old and at just over 6 months. I promise you it's the same bunny! |
Weddings!
So last weekend was the weekend of weddings! We have been invited to 8 weddings this summer and 3 of them happened last weekend. Of course they also happened in 3 different states: Iowa, Missouri and Indiana. So how do we decide whose wedding to go to? How about my cousin's and the only relative getting married? We spent 3 nights and 4 days in Fort Wayne last weekend to help my cousin celebrate her marriage.
Before we went to Fort Wayne I was thinking I would start doing things after coming home to encourage Sam to drop his middle of the night feeding. Well, Sam had different ideas and last week Wednesday he did it all on his own! Everything I was going to do to encourage it he simply did and then proceeded to sleep through the night! It was a glorious 8.5 hours! Although he started waking a little in the middle, so I got things ready to feed him (like glass of water, use the restroom, things like that) and in the couple of minutes it took me, he fell back asleep. When he awoke again at 6am, I was somewhat annoyed he was waking early (normally wake up is around 7am), but then realized he slept through the night and all my annoyance was gone!
I assumed that with the trip that meant we'd take a step back from sleeping through the night, but it didn't. The first night there he woke up every 3 hours like he used to, but the second and third night he managed 6+ hour stretches, so that was good. The first night home he also didn't sleep well, but since then he's been doing about 9 hour stretches. My body is finally adjusted to the fact that I don't have to wake up in the middle of the night and I am also finally sleeping as well!
Anyways, during our trip to Fort Wayne we were able to relax a little about Sam. First of all, we knew we would have more than a tiny bit of time to see these relatives, so we were stricter about making sure he got his naps in and stayed on his routine a little closer. Then every time he needed to eat, I took him off somewhere quiet to nurse him. Between that and him being a little older I think that helped him not get over stimulated. All these things together made a very happy baby overall and helped him remain a good sleeper at night!
It was really exciting at the wedding though because my whole Dad's side of the family was there! My Dad has one sister who has three children. It used to be family gatherings on that side were really tiny, there are 5 of us in my immediate family and 5 in my aunts family, then add my Grandma and that made a whopping 11 people. This time, however, there were several more! With 3 of us married and 2 with kids our numbers are growing! We had 16 of us!! Plus one in utero (not me, my cousin who already has one) so that would actually be 17! It's quite exciting to me that our family is now growing.
It was really good to see everyone and for everyone to meet Sam. Now some of the family did get the opportunity to meet him already, but some hadn't. My parents and brothers pretty much had a monopoly on Sam's time the day of the wedding. Which was fine because my parents had to go home the next day and the rest of us would be still around for at least another day. The next day we went to my Aunt and Uncles for gift opening, then I hung around for a while. The cool thing was we had an opportunity to get a photo of Grandma with her 2 great-grandkids!
Before we went to Fort Wayne I was thinking I would start doing things after coming home to encourage Sam to drop his middle of the night feeding. Well, Sam had different ideas and last week Wednesday he did it all on his own! Everything I was going to do to encourage it he simply did and then proceeded to sleep through the night! It was a glorious 8.5 hours! Although he started waking a little in the middle, so I got things ready to feed him (like glass of water, use the restroom, things like that) and in the couple of minutes it took me, he fell back asleep. When he awoke again at 6am, I was somewhat annoyed he was waking early (normally wake up is around 7am), but then realized he slept through the night and all my annoyance was gone!
I assumed that with the trip that meant we'd take a step back from sleeping through the night, but it didn't. The first night there he woke up every 3 hours like he used to, but the second and third night he managed 6+ hour stretches, so that was good. The first night home he also didn't sleep well, but since then he's been doing about 9 hour stretches. My body is finally adjusted to the fact that I don't have to wake up in the middle of the night and I am also finally sleeping as well!
Anyways, during our trip to Fort Wayne we were able to relax a little about Sam. First of all, we knew we would have more than a tiny bit of time to see these relatives, so we were stricter about making sure he got his naps in and stayed on his routine a little closer. Then every time he needed to eat, I took him off somewhere quiet to nurse him. Between that and him being a little older I think that helped him not get over stimulated. All these things together made a very happy baby overall and helped him remain a good sleeper at night!
It was really exciting at the wedding though because my whole Dad's side of the family was there! My Dad has one sister who has three children. It used to be family gatherings on that side were really tiny, there are 5 of us in my immediate family and 5 in my aunts family, then add my Grandma and that made a whopping 11 people. This time, however, there were several more! With 3 of us married and 2 with kids our numbers are growing! We had 16 of us!! Plus one in utero (not me, my cousin who already has one) so that would actually be 17! It's quite exciting to me that our family is now growing.
It was really good to see everyone and for everyone to meet Sam. Now some of the family did get the opportunity to meet him already, but some hadn't. My parents and brothers pretty much had a monopoly on Sam's time the day of the wedding. Which was fine because my parents had to go home the next day and the rest of us would be still around for at least another day. The next day we went to my Aunt and Uncles for gift opening, then I hung around for a while. The cool thing was we had an opportunity to get a photo of Grandma with her 2 great-grandkids!
09 July 2012
Busy Summer!
Summer is seriously flying past! I can't believe that it's already AFTER the 4th of July! Which I should because I did the fifth seasons race again (5K) and it was blistering hot when it started at 8:15 that morning. It was probably the worst I felt after the race too, between the heat and my asthma deciding to act up a little). One of my former Regina students came in 1st at the race, I was so proud! I do miss those students!
At the end of June we made a quick trip to NE to visit Ben's Grandma. She hasn't been doing as well lately (prayers are asked for) and so we wanted to make sure she met her Great-Grandson sooner than later! Overall it was really a good trip. We stayed the first night at my parents, then drove the rest of the way into Nebraska. Spent the afternoon with her and then went to one of Ben's Aunt's houses for supper. The plan was to stay there the rest of the evening, but other things came up. Another one of Ben's Aunt's had the whole family in town and on of the cousins and his wife needed to leave sooner than later because of the fires out west, so they ended up going in to visit Grandma yet that night. As this was going to be the only opportunity to see some of them we made the trip into town after feeding Sam.
This unfortunately put Sam over the top. He was doing well up until then, but going back into town and seeing all those people was just a little too much for the poor baby. We did have fun talking with the relatives and letting them see Sam for the first time however.
That night we paid for our actions by the 3 of us all getting little sleep. Morning came way too quickly and we reluctantly started the day. We started by driving into town to visit Grandma again before going home. After a nice visit with Grandma we headed to have lunch with another Aunt and Uncle and cousin of Ben's then started the trek home.
Thankfully Sam does really well in the car! The drive with him wasn't such a big deal (of course it takes longer because you have to stop, feed and burp him!), but then we ran into construction on I-80 and it sounded like maybe a few accidents down the road as well. We bailed and took the scenic route before we could find out. I think all the stuff on 80 added at least an hour to our drive, which meant we had to stop again to feed Sam on the way home (one more time than we should have needed to because of 80).
We've been home for a week and a half now and Sam is finally getting back on routine. Now before anyone thinks I am only blaming the trip to NE, let me add this little bit. It seems pretty clear that shortly after we returned Sam started teething!! Yup, he's only 2 months adjusted and teething! Now it could be another month before we see teeth, but he's definitely teething. That HAD to have contributed to his extra grumpiness over the last week...
Now we are looking forward to Sam being he's happy content self again. Ben is at guard all week, so we look forward to having him home again (though life will not be slowing down by no means when he does get home). This week, I plan on enjoying a fairly relaxing week with my son. :-)
At the end of June we made a quick trip to NE to visit Ben's Grandma. She hasn't been doing as well lately (prayers are asked for) and so we wanted to make sure she met her Great-Grandson sooner than later! Overall it was really a good trip. We stayed the first night at my parents, then drove the rest of the way into Nebraska. Spent the afternoon with her and then went to one of Ben's Aunt's houses for supper. The plan was to stay there the rest of the evening, but other things came up. Another one of Ben's Aunt's had the whole family in town and on of the cousins and his wife needed to leave sooner than later because of the fires out west, so they ended up going in to visit Grandma yet that night. As this was going to be the only opportunity to see some of them we made the trip into town after feeding Sam.
This unfortunately put Sam over the top. He was doing well up until then, but going back into town and seeing all those people was just a little too much for the poor baby. We did have fun talking with the relatives and letting them see Sam for the first time however.
That night we paid for our actions by the 3 of us all getting little sleep. Morning came way too quickly and we reluctantly started the day. We started by driving into town to visit Grandma again before going home. After a nice visit with Grandma we headed to have lunch with another Aunt and Uncle and cousin of Ben's then started the trek home.
Thankfully Sam does really well in the car! The drive with him wasn't such a big deal (of course it takes longer because you have to stop, feed and burp him!), but then we ran into construction on I-80 and it sounded like maybe a few accidents down the road as well. We bailed and took the scenic route before we could find out. I think all the stuff on 80 added at least an hour to our drive, which meant we had to stop again to feed Sam on the way home (one more time than we should have needed to because of 80).
We've been home for a week and a half now and Sam is finally getting back on routine. Now before anyone thinks I am only blaming the trip to NE, let me add this little bit. It seems pretty clear that shortly after we returned Sam started teething!! Yup, he's only 2 months adjusted and teething! Now it could be another month before we see teeth, but he's definitely teething. That HAD to have contributed to his extra grumpiness over the last week...
Now we are looking forward to Sam being he's happy content self again. Ben is at guard all week, so we look forward to having him home again (though life will not be slowing down by no means when he does get home). This week, I plan on enjoying a fairly relaxing week with my son. :-)
25 June 2012
Transformations
So often I have been writing about things that affect Samuel because he's a preemie, I would to take a few moments to share how much he's been changing and hitting some full-term baby milestones during this month. He is sure growing and changing fast! So much so that when Ben has to be gone for Church or guard, he is always amazed at how much he's grown and changed while he was gone!
In May I started to hear some cooing sounds, but then I didn't for a while. Well, in June, he's picked them back up, big time! After a feeing when he's awake he will sit there and just make cooing noises. I'll be in the kitchen washing out my pump and here a bunch of "ooh's" from the other room.
He's also gotten to be quite smiley! Smiling and cooing seem to go hand in hand. We learned that if we tap his lips gently with our finger it encourages more smiles and coos! He has the cutest little smile (at least we think so, but hey, we're his parents!) and even a little dimple on one side! Last night Ben was playing with him and did an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression and that even elicited a laugh from him! Probably the first laugh he's done!
Between the cooing and smiling Sam's beginning to be quite fun to play with. It seemed like we were locked so long in a pattern of changing diapers, feeding and burping and that was pretty much the only activities he participated in and he hated the diaper changes. So it is nice to start seeing him become playful! We have been ready to see this start and glad he is too!
Lately he's also stopped viewing diaper changes as the worst form of torture known to man kind. In fact he sometimes seems to even like them! He tends to really like them we he has a particularly messy diaper, which used to be when he howled the loudest and hardest. Now he sometimes even smiles and coos while we change his diaper. Of course there still are a few changes in a day where he's a little fussier during, but hey, this is a vast improvement!
We've also started allowing Sam to sleep longer at night. Now he wakes up 1-2 times at night. That's fantastic for all of us! He tends to be more awake and playful in the day now and more sleepy at night. We have notice a few fussy times however. He really doesn't like being put down to sleep that first time at night and he really doesn't like to pause eating to burp! Yesterday he was being especially dramatic about the burping, so I was calling him my drama king.
On another note, we did another overnight trip to Milwaukee. His first out of state adventure! He did great! We stayed at my cousin's house. They are expecting a little boy in the fall and already have a 2 year old daughter so that was fun. Their daughter got to learn a little about how to act around a baby (gentle touches). We went to a wedding and Sam did great through it all! On the way home we were going to try to stretch his feedings out a little and make the drive in one shot, but about a half hour from home he decided he was hungry, so we stopped (we would have made it, but we were somewhat slow at leaving the reception). Oh well, we tried and he did great! We are starting to really get this overnight traveling down! Which is good and we have 1 more to go this month (We'll be visiting Ben's Grandma who has not been doing well. We weren't planning on going out that direction until later this year, but we want to make sure she gets to meet Sam.).
In May I started to hear some cooing sounds, but then I didn't for a while. Well, in June, he's picked them back up, big time! After a feeing when he's awake he will sit there and just make cooing noises. I'll be in the kitchen washing out my pump and here a bunch of "ooh's" from the other room.
He's also gotten to be quite smiley! Smiling and cooing seem to go hand in hand. We learned that if we tap his lips gently with our finger it encourages more smiles and coos! He has the cutest little smile (at least we think so, but hey, we're his parents!) and even a little dimple on one side! Last night Ben was playing with him and did an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression and that even elicited a laugh from him! Probably the first laugh he's done!
Between the cooing and smiling Sam's beginning to be quite fun to play with. It seemed like we were locked so long in a pattern of changing diapers, feeding and burping and that was pretty much the only activities he participated in and he hated the diaper changes. So it is nice to start seeing him become playful! We have been ready to see this start and glad he is too!
Lately he's also stopped viewing diaper changes as the worst form of torture known to man kind. In fact he sometimes seems to even like them! He tends to really like them we he has a particularly messy diaper, which used to be when he howled the loudest and hardest. Now he sometimes even smiles and coos while we change his diaper. Of course there still are a few changes in a day where he's a little fussier during, but hey, this is a vast improvement!
We've also started allowing Sam to sleep longer at night. Now he wakes up 1-2 times at night. That's fantastic for all of us! He tends to be more awake and playful in the day now and more sleepy at night. We have notice a few fussy times however. He really doesn't like being put down to sleep that first time at night and he really doesn't like to pause eating to burp! Yesterday he was being especially dramatic about the burping, so I was calling him my drama king.
On another note, we did another overnight trip to Milwaukee. His first out of state adventure! He did great! We stayed at my cousin's house. They are expecting a little boy in the fall and already have a 2 year old daughter so that was fun. Their daughter got to learn a little about how to act around a baby (gentle touches). We went to a wedding and Sam did great through it all! On the way home we were going to try to stretch his feedings out a little and make the drive in one shot, but about a half hour from home he decided he was hungry, so we stopped (we would have made it, but we were somewhat slow at leaving the reception). Oh well, we tried and he did great! We are starting to really get this overnight traveling down! Which is good and we have 1 more to go this month (We'll be visiting Ben's Grandma who has not been doing well. We weren't planning on going out that direction until later this year, but we want to make sure she gets to meet Sam.).
21 June 2012
Baby Wearing :-)
Today I just really wanted to share why I often wear Samuel when we are out and about. There are really two reasons why I do this. The first reason is probably pretty obvious (and for this reason I would have been wearing him even if he came full-term), hands free! He gets to snuggle in close to his Mommy and I get my hands to use for other things.
I was in Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and saw this Mom and her three children. Now I'm guessing on their ages, but one looked like preschool, another toddler and the third newborn (like she even looked smaller than Samuel that day kind of newborn). The two older kids were running around, obviously excited to be in a store and exhibited the typical behavior that goes with that. The baby started to get fussy sitting in her car seat in basket of the cart, so Mom picked her up. Now what does this Mom have to do? She has to pick up groceries, keep the two older kids with her and push her cart--all 1 handed! I say no thank you! Granted, at this point we don't have any other children, but have you tried to push some of those carts with one hand? That can be a challenge in itself, never mind everything else!
Along with handsfree, it also turns out that baby wearing is quite effortless (until you go for a half hour walk like that, which I did and it turned out much more tiring than a half hour walk with him in the stroller, good exercise right?).
Reason #2 (which is actually reason #1 with our preemie) is to keep him tucked away from people, especially large groups of people. This is not because I don't want anyone to see or touch Samuel, but because I want to keep him as safe as I can and I'd rather have things like touching and holding him done in a controlled environment. Out in public (especially in larger group settings) who knows who's been exposed to what, and who's hands have been shaken already. You might be just fine, but can you assure me that everyone's hands you just shook are also just fine? So until we're ready to just pass him around in groups of people, allow my husband and I to lead when it comes to showing him to people.
Expect me to loosen as summer goes on. Then expect me to keep him tucked away more during the next RSV season (RSV is dangerous to preemies and young babies). Then expect me to relax a lot! Samuel's an amazing baby in my eyes and I want to share him with you, but just for a little longer, please allow me to do that in my own way. I promise I won't keep him from people completely! I just ask your patience in the meantime!
I was in Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and saw this Mom and her three children. Now I'm guessing on their ages, but one looked like preschool, another toddler and the third newborn (like she even looked smaller than Samuel that day kind of newborn). The two older kids were running around, obviously excited to be in a store and exhibited the typical behavior that goes with that. The baby started to get fussy sitting in her car seat in basket of the cart, so Mom picked her up. Now what does this Mom have to do? She has to pick up groceries, keep the two older kids with her and push her cart--all 1 handed! I say no thank you! Granted, at this point we don't have any other children, but have you tried to push some of those carts with one hand? That can be a challenge in itself, never mind everything else!
Along with handsfree, it also turns out that baby wearing is quite effortless (until you go for a half hour walk like that, which I did and it turned out much more tiring than a half hour walk with him in the stroller, good exercise right?).
Reason #2 (which is actually reason #1 with our preemie) is to keep him tucked away from people, especially large groups of people. This is not because I don't want anyone to see or touch Samuel, but because I want to keep him as safe as I can and I'd rather have things like touching and holding him done in a controlled environment. Out in public (especially in larger group settings) who knows who's been exposed to what, and who's hands have been shaken already. You might be just fine, but can you assure me that everyone's hands you just shook are also just fine? So until we're ready to just pass him around in groups of people, allow my husband and I to lead when it comes to showing him to people.
Expect me to loosen as summer goes on. Then expect me to keep him tucked away more during the next RSV season (RSV is dangerous to preemies and young babies). Then expect me to relax a lot! Samuel's an amazing baby in my eyes and I want to share him with you, but just for a little longer, please allow me to do that in my own way. I promise I won't keep him from people completely! I just ask your patience in the meantime!
11 June 2012
Iowa East District LWML Convention
On Friday and Saturday we went to Dubuque as a family for the Iowa East District LWML Convention. I was supposed to talk about my experiences as a YWR (Young Women Representative) at the National Convention in Peoria last summer. This was somewhat nerve racking because it was the first time we were taking Samuel on an overnight trip!
On Thursday I put together a list of things to pack for Samuel (in the process though I found out I left some things I needed at home, but oh well, I made do!). Trying to make sure we had everything we need. In the end I didn't bring near as much stuff along as I envisioned I was going to have to take for him.
Things went well overall, so that was great! We left Friday after feeding Sam. We got there in time to get our room, grab registrations and our box lunch, feed Sam and eat our own lunches, just in time for the opening service. Which I would have to say was a nicely done opening service of the convention!
We stayed at the afternoon meeting session for most of it, until I had to leave to nurse Sam. Ben then joined us a little later and took a nap. We went down to the banquet that evening, which Sam did very well at, unfortunately we kept him out a little too long and he got a bit over stimulated. We fed him a bottle while we were there, which he did great with. When he was getting a little fussy around 9:30, I took him back to the hotel room so he could sleep and not be around all those people and the noise. Well, that was the right decision, because by the time we reached the room Sam had worked himself up into quite the fit! Once I got him settled down, I fed him and Ben showed up.
Sam wasn't so keen on sleeping that night, but again, we over stimulated him and I am sure that had something to do with it (not to mention he wasn't sleeping in his usual room!). The next morning I got up, fed him and went to breakfast. We didn't register Ben for the 2nd day, so he chilled in the hotel room during the morning. When it was time for Sam's mid morning feeding I went back to the room and nursed him. Then I took him along for an interest session and lunch, just to give Ben a break (and he had to load up and check out of the room!).
I gave him back to Ben during lunch. During the afternoon session I got to talk about my experiences at the national convention last summer. You can read my top tens post about it here. I opted to use humor when I talked about it, because most of the people there attended the national convention. I closed with a few points on participation of young women in LWML. Hopefully I was able to give them an idea of something they can do to encourage it! (the idea was personal invitations-not expecting the note in the bulletin to attract them)
I can say our first overnight was a success and the convention was good! I do regret that we didn't have time to walk through the exhibit hall. We just kept missing them! Oh well, that does happen! At least I have probably seen most of the booths present at different conventions and gatherings. With that though, now I sometimes personally know the exhibitors! So it would have been nice to go through and see who was there that I knew.
After being at convention I have a renewed interested in trying to get young women involved. The things that LWML does is truly amazing! I think us younger women have things to learn from those lovely older ladies who work so hard at doing all that LWML does. No, I really don't appreciate sitting through business meetings, but I love that missions are being funded so that God's Word can reach more people!
On Thursday I put together a list of things to pack for Samuel (in the process though I found out I left some things I needed at home, but oh well, I made do!). Trying to make sure we had everything we need. In the end I didn't bring near as much stuff along as I envisioned I was going to have to take for him.
Things went well overall, so that was great! We left Friday after feeding Sam. We got there in time to get our room, grab registrations and our box lunch, feed Sam and eat our own lunches, just in time for the opening service. Which I would have to say was a nicely done opening service of the convention!
We stayed at the afternoon meeting session for most of it, until I had to leave to nurse Sam. Ben then joined us a little later and took a nap. We went down to the banquet that evening, which Sam did very well at, unfortunately we kept him out a little too long and he got a bit over stimulated. We fed him a bottle while we were there, which he did great with. When he was getting a little fussy around 9:30, I took him back to the hotel room so he could sleep and not be around all those people and the noise. Well, that was the right decision, because by the time we reached the room Sam had worked himself up into quite the fit! Once I got him settled down, I fed him and Ben showed up.
Sam wasn't so keen on sleeping that night, but again, we over stimulated him and I am sure that had something to do with it (not to mention he wasn't sleeping in his usual room!). The next morning I got up, fed him and went to breakfast. We didn't register Ben for the 2nd day, so he chilled in the hotel room during the morning. When it was time for Sam's mid morning feeding I went back to the room and nursed him. Then I took him along for an interest session and lunch, just to give Ben a break (and he had to load up and check out of the room!).
I gave him back to Ben during lunch. During the afternoon session I got to talk about my experiences at the national convention last summer. You can read my top tens post about it here. I opted to use humor when I talked about it, because most of the people there attended the national convention. I closed with a few points on participation of young women in LWML. Hopefully I was able to give them an idea of something they can do to encourage it! (the idea was personal invitations-not expecting the note in the bulletin to attract them)
I can say our first overnight was a success and the convention was good! I do regret that we didn't have time to walk through the exhibit hall. We just kept missing them! Oh well, that does happen! At least I have probably seen most of the booths present at different conventions and gatherings. With that though, now I sometimes personally know the exhibitors! So it would have been nice to go through and see who was there that I knew.
After being at convention I have a renewed interested in trying to get young women involved. The things that LWML does is truly amazing! I think us younger women have things to learn from those lovely older ladies who work so hard at doing all that LWML does. No, I really don't appreciate sitting through business meetings, but I love that missions are being funded so that God's Word can reach more people!
07 June 2012
4 Month Check-Up
So a week ago today we went in for Sam's 4 month check-up. It went really well! But let me give you some background before talking about the actual check-up.
We had decided to switch pediatricians. Sam just really needed a doctor that understands the prematurity side of things (oh and one that would actually address his oxygen needs!). So we switched to a doctor that saw Sam in the NICU a few times and also happens to be a pediatrician. He's a great doctor, which means we had to ask special permission to be a patient of his and had to find times to squeeze us into his schedule.
We had our first visit with him 3 weeks ago. At that point we had already had his 4 month visit scheduled, but his office called wanting to schedule a special appointment just to address his oxygen needs! That made me really happy, because I did not believe Samuel actually NEEDED to be on oxygen, but we were left having him on oxygen because we didn't want to fully take him off without having confirmation of what we thought.
So we went in for that check-up. Ben and I explained to him what had been going on and got the green light to take Sam off the oxygen, but keep him on the monitor. Oh and we also got to change his O2 parameters on the monitor. They were originally set at 95-100 and now they are set 90-100. He's still supposed to be in the upper end of the range, but as he was already declared ROP free weeks before that appointment it's fine when his O2 is a little lower than 95 (higher O2=lower ROP according to some studies).
That gave us a lot more freedom in our lives. I didn't really want to take him to Church, but now that his parameters were different I felt more comfortable (otherwise off O2 he would do this thing where he'd go to 94 just long enough for it to alarm and then right back up, I really didn't want to go to Church and beep the whole service...). So now I have been able to bring Sam with to Church for the past 3 weekends.
Now zoom forward again to the 4 month check-up. This is one where they get immunizations. Because he reacted so poorly to the first round at 2 months (remember, we ended up staying in the NICU over the weekend instead of leaving just before the weekend) our doctor decided to split them up. He also decided it would be good to keep the oxygen stuff around just in case he reacts poorly. He asked us to monitor his oxygen for a day or 2 and then we could take him off the monitor until we go in to get the rest of the immunizations (later today actually).
Samuel also weighed in at 9# 3oz and is 21.75 inches in length. So he's growing great! He's actually starting to grow out of newborn more and more. We have him primarily in 0-3 mo clothes now as he is too long for most of our newborn stuff. The doctor also said that Samuel is a perfectly normal 1 month old baby now and that if he didn't know Sam previously and I had told him he was 1 month old, he would not have questioned the age at all! We are excited to start seeing more full-term baby milestones (not that the preemie milestones weren't great and hugely important!).
Sam did just fine with the first part of the 4 month immunizations and we pray that he does just as well with the last of it today. He will be going on his first overnight trip tomorrow, so we are really hoping he does well!
We had decided to switch pediatricians. Sam just really needed a doctor that understands the prematurity side of things (oh and one that would actually address his oxygen needs!). So we switched to a doctor that saw Sam in the NICU a few times and also happens to be a pediatrician. He's a great doctor, which means we had to ask special permission to be a patient of his and had to find times to squeeze us into his schedule.
We had our first visit with him 3 weeks ago. At that point we had already had his 4 month visit scheduled, but his office called wanting to schedule a special appointment just to address his oxygen needs! That made me really happy, because I did not believe Samuel actually NEEDED to be on oxygen, but we were left having him on oxygen because we didn't want to fully take him off without having confirmation of what we thought.
So we went in for that check-up. Ben and I explained to him what had been going on and got the green light to take Sam off the oxygen, but keep him on the monitor. Oh and we also got to change his O2 parameters on the monitor. They were originally set at 95-100 and now they are set 90-100. He's still supposed to be in the upper end of the range, but as he was already declared ROP free weeks before that appointment it's fine when his O2 is a little lower than 95 (higher O2=lower ROP according to some studies).
That gave us a lot more freedom in our lives. I didn't really want to take him to Church, but now that his parameters were different I felt more comfortable (otherwise off O2 he would do this thing where he'd go to 94 just long enough for it to alarm and then right back up, I really didn't want to go to Church and beep the whole service...). So now I have been able to bring Sam with to Church for the past 3 weekends.
Now zoom forward again to the 4 month check-up. This is one where they get immunizations. Because he reacted so poorly to the first round at 2 months (remember, we ended up staying in the NICU over the weekend instead of leaving just before the weekend) our doctor decided to split them up. He also decided it would be good to keep the oxygen stuff around just in case he reacts poorly. He asked us to monitor his oxygen for a day or 2 and then we could take him off the monitor until we go in to get the rest of the immunizations (later today actually).
Samuel also weighed in at 9# 3oz and is 21.75 inches in length. So he's growing great! He's actually starting to grow out of newborn more and more. We have him primarily in 0-3 mo clothes now as he is too long for most of our newborn stuff. The doctor also said that Samuel is a perfectly normal 1 month old baby now and that if he didn't know Sam previously and I had told him he was 1 month old, he would not have questioned the age at all! We are excited to start seeing more full-term baby milestones (not that the preemie milestones weren't great and hugely important!).
Sam did just fine with the first part of the 4 month immunizations and we pray that he does just as well with the last of it today. He will be going on his first overnight trip tomorrow, so we are really hoping he does well!
06 June 2012
Moving
So I have been rather delinquent here, but I think with good reason! For those of you who don't know we moved across town to a house that is a little better set up for a growing family. It also has the added perk that Ben is now only 1.5 miles from work instead of 7! So far we are loving the new house and are just praying fervently that God sends us a buyer for the old house. We will be having the first open house for it on Sunday 1-3, so if you know anyone interested...
Moving with a baby is not fun, at least I did not view it as fun. It might not have been soo bad, but we had some issues going into it (not real bad issues, but they still added stress!). Basically Samuel is nursed most of the day and is to receive 3 bottles of fortified milk a day (and I get to pump pump pump...). A few days before we started moving things is when the nursing issues started. He used to nurse 25-30 minutes no problem, but had backed down to 20-25 minutes a few weeks before the move. I take it as he has simply become more efficient at it because he seemed just as full.
Well a few days before the move I would spend an hour or more just to get him to go 15-20 minutes, which was quite unusual. Normally we'd be done nursing in a half an hour then I would spend another half an hour getting him to burp. At the time I thought it was just laziness because it is easier to eat from the bottle, but now I think it might have simply been my stress of moving playing out in his feeding ability, which a few days before the move I didn't think I was THAT stressed!
Anyways, so pretty much to sum up the move, I spent the time fighting with Sam to get him to nurse, getting practically no sleep, which made me really no fun to be around... I was not especially nice to my husband the whole time and he was a saint to have put up with me! Just proof that I have an extremely loving and gracious husband! During the move I basically shut down and barricaded myself off from the world in a room with Sam.
Since that weekend I have slowly been unpacking our house, one box at a time. I have made a small dent into the things that need to happen. Also since that weekend Sam has taken of with nursing again and has been doing just fine! We are all much more relaxed overall. The only thing missing is Ben. He's been spending all this time at the old house getting it ready that we don't see him much. All the more reason I pray that house sells quickly!
Also with the move we didn't have internet until yesterday. So now I am back on and can feel connected to the world again! Over the next few days I am going to be writing different updates about different things that have been happening, other than the move.
Moving with a baby is not fun, at least I did not view it as fun. It might not have been soo bad, but we had some issues going into it (not real bad issues, but they still added stress!). Basically Samuel is nursed most of the day and is to receive 3 bottles of fortified milk a day (and I get to pump pump pump...). A few days before we started moving things is when the nursing issues started. He used to nurse 25-30 minutes no problem, but had backed down to 20-25 minutes a few weeks before the move. I take it as he has simply become more efficient at it because he seemed just as full.
Well a few days before the move I would spend an hour or more just to get him to go 15-20 minutes, which was quite unusual. Normally we'd be done nursing in a half an hour then I would spend another half an hour getting him to burp. At the time I thought it was just laziness because it is easier to eat from the bottle, but now I think it might have simply been my stress of moving playing out in his feeding ability, which a few days before the move I didn't think I was THAT stressed!
Anyways, so pretty much to sum up the move, I spent the time fighting with Sam to get him to nurse, getting practically no sleep, which made me really no fun to be around... I was not especially nice to my husband the whole time and he was a saint to have put up with me! Just proof that I have an extremely loving and gracious husband! During the move I basically shut down and barricaded myself off from the world in a room with Sam.
Since that weekend I have slowly been unpacking our house, one box at a time. I have made a small dent into the things that need to happen. Also since that weekend Sam has taken of with nursing again and has been doing just fine! We are all much more relaxed overall. The only thing missing is Ben. He's been spending all this time at the old house getting it ready that we don't see him much. All the more reason I pray that house sells quickly!
Also with the move we didn't have internet until yesterday. So now I am back on and can feel connected to the world again! Over the next few days I am going to be writing different updates about different things that have been happening, other than the move.
03 May 2012
Happy ZERO Birthday! Err, I mean 3 month Birthday!
Time has really flown since Samuel came home! He came home about a month ago now. I can't hardly believe it! Some things important things have happened and I will focus on those in this post.
We went to the eye doctor 3 times since he came home and he has now been declared ROP free! That is great news! He saw less and less each time until he saw nothing of the ROP left. So he doesn't have to go back to that doctor for 4 months. Yippee!
He has steadily been gaining weight since that first bit of weight loss. He is now about 7lb 10oz. We'll get the freshest weight tomorrow!
The pediatricians office has been interesting... They haven't quite figured out that he was born 3 months early and that makes things a little different for him than regular full-term babies. I also thought that his records were sent over from the NICU, but now I question if they truly were. They were trying to get me to schedule a "2 month" check-up to give him his 2 month shots. If they truly were looking at his record they would have seen that he received those before his discharge... So we are in the process of getting switched over to a different pediatrician, who also happens to be a neonatologist. The only trick is he's really good so his schedule is totally booked! We do finally have an app. scheduled with him, though not until the end of the month...
We still have a visiting nurse coming to check weight and he is still on oxygen. We are hoping and praying that he can quit the oxygen soon. I personally don't think he really needs it anymore, but alas, we shall see, when the visiting nurse comes tomorrow I want to talk with her about that more and see what she thinks. She could have some good suggestions about getting in with the doctor and deciding further about oxygen.
That being said, Sam did give us a little bit of a scare last weekend and we ended up at the doctor's office on Saturday (his due date). He kept dropping his oxygen really low just after eating (and just before too because he thinks diaper changes are the worst form of torture known to mankind...). So we went in and the doctor thinks Sam has some reflux. We've been trying some simple remedies at home (like holding him more vertically for about a half hour after eating) and he seems to be reacting well to that.
We also have Sam sleeping on his own again! If you remember when he first came home from the NICU he decided that he needed to be held 24/7, well we didn't completely agree. Though we LOVE holding our son, it is nice to be able to have him sleep without being held as well. So now we have him sleeping mainly in his bassinet and occasionally on us. Let's just say Mom and Dad are now getting a bit better sleep (even if it is just in apr. 2 hour increments...).
As of last check-up we decided to try only 2 bottles of fortified milk a day. This means I get to nurse him one more feeding a day and I don't have to pump AS much. Please pray that he still shows good weight gain with one less fortified bottle a day.
I think that is it with big updates. We are loving having him home though it definitely is more tiring having him home (though I still have not been as tired as I was when I was pregnant). Maybe the next big thing we can work on (other than getting him OFF oxygen) would be getting him to sleep longer at night? We can only hope!
We went to the eye doctor 3 times since he came home and he has now been declared ROP free! That is great news! He saw less and less each time until he saw nothing of the ROP left. So he doesn't have to go back to that doctor for 4 months. Yippee!
He has steadily been gaining weight since that first bit of weight loss. He is now about 7lb 10oz. We'll get the freshest weight tomorrow!
The pediatricians office has been interesting... They haven't quite figured out that he was born 3 months early and that makes things a little different for him than regular full-term babies. I also thought that his records were sent over from the NICU, but now I question if they truly were. They were trying to get me to schedule a "2 month" check-up to give him his 2 month shots. If they truly were looking at his record they would have seen that he received those before his discharge... So we are in the process of getting switched over to a different pediatrician, who also happens to be a neonatologist. The only trick is he's really good so his schedule is totally booked! We do finally have an app. scheduled with him, though not until the end of the month...
We still have a visiting nurse coming to check weight and he is still on oxygen. We are hoping and praying that he can quit the oxygen soon. I personally don't think he really needs it anymore, but alas, we shall see, when the visiting nurse comes tomorrow I want to talk with her about that more and see what she thinks. She could have some good suggestions about getting in with the doctor and deciding further about oxygen.
That being said, Sam did give us a little bit of a scare last weekend and we ended up at the doctor's office on Saturday (his due date). He kept dropping his oxygen really low just after eating (and just before too because he thinks diaper changes are the worst form of torture known to mankind...). So we went in and the doctor thinks Sam has some reflux. We've been trying some simple remedies at home (like holding him more vertically for about a half hour after eating) and he seems to be reacting well to that.
We also have Sam sleeping on his own again! If you remember when he first came home from the NICU he decided that he needed to be held 24/7, well we didn't completely agree. Though we LOVE holding our son, it is nice to be able to have him sleep without being held as well. So now we have him sleeping mainly in his bassinet and occasionally on us. Let's just say Mom and Dad are now getting a bit better sleep (even if it is just in apr. 2 hour increments...).
As of last check-up we decided to try only 2 bottles of fortified milk a day. This means I get to nurse him one more feeding a day and I don't have to pump AS much. Please pray that he still shows good weight gain with one less fortified bottle a day.
I think that is it with big updates. We are loving having him home though it definitely is more tiring having him home (though I still have not been as tired as I was when I was pregnant). Maybe the next big thing we can work on (other than getting him OFF oxygen) would be getting him to sleep longer at night? We can only hope!
06 April 2012
Actual vs. Adjusted
We've been home with Samuel 4 days now and let's just say neither my husband nor myself have gotten a lot of sleep. I know, sleep when the baby sleeps, but we're dealing with a baby that sleeps best when being held and I just don't feel comfortable sleeping with him. I move around a lot in my sleep, so maybe I'm just paranoid that I'll squish him or throw him on the floor. So for now, I sleep when Ben's taking care of him at night (we trade off feeding times), and catch some cat naps during the day.
Right now it is extremely important that we help Sam sleep as much as he can! Of course if he is happily awake, we won't stop that either, but we need him sleeping. Which is why we hold him so much, if we're holding him he sleeps better, and if he sleeps better that means he eats better. The NICU doctor told us he should eat every 2-4 hours and about 8-10 times per day. This means we are not training him to sleep through the night right now, which brings me to the title of this post!
Samuel's actual age is currently 10 weeks. His adjusted age is only 37 weeks gestation, or he should not even be born yet. That means in some ways he's still kind of like a baby that is at 37 weeks gestation. As we move past his due date he'll have a different kind of adjusted age. His due date is the 28th of this month. That means on the 29th he'll be approximately 3 months actual, but only 1 day adjusted.
Where exactly am I going with all this? Well, we've been given some great advice on how to get Samuel to sleep through the night and for right now, we just have to file it away for when we'll finally be able to start getting him to sleep through the night. For now however the game is, get him to eat as often as we can! Most babies don't come out of the womb sleeping through the night right away (at least that is my understanding) and considering Samuel should not even be out of the womb yet, we have some time to go.
This doesn't affect just sleeping through the night however, there are many developmental markers that work the same way. Obviously every baby is a little different, but things that babies generally do around 3 months of age, is 6 months adjusted for Samuel. So just because he's 3 months old (on his due date) does not mean he'll be able to do the same thing as his 3 month old peers, rather he'll do them with his 3 months adjusted age peers (when he's 6 months actual). Confused yet? Welcome to my world!
I like to look at it this way, for other babies of his adjusted age, he's quite advanced! Most of them are still mooching off their mamas and haven't seen the light of day and Samuel is eating on his own and pooping quite well. So I like to think we have quite the advanced baby for his age! Maybe he'll even be ahead of his adjusted age peers in those developmental markers (though probably behind his actual age peers). All this of course won't matter much in a couple of years.
A quick illustration on why it is so important that Samuel keeps eating frequently: The first couple of days we struggled to get him eating more frequently than 4 hours apart. If you do the math, that does not equal 8 feedings in a day. When the visiting nurse came and weighed him, he had actually dropped 2oz from his discharge weight! Oops! Well, the last couple of days he's been a much better eater and he is now a half an ounce above his discharge weight! (discharge: 5# 14.5oz, Wednesday's weight: 5# 12.5oz, today: 5# 15oz). You see how important it is that we keep him eating as much as we can? I've already resigned myself to probably not remember much of the month of April....
I hope I wasn't too rambly... But I'll stop now, I need to wake that little baby up so he can eat and then I'll pump (oh yeah, still pumping after every feeding...). My time goes quickly with all this feeding stuff going on!
Right now it is extremely important that we help Sam sleep as much as he can! Of course if he is happily awake, we won't stop that either, but we need him sleeping. Which is why we hold him so much, if we're holding him he sleeps better, and if he sleeps better that means he eats better. The NICU doctor told us he should eat every 2-4 hours and about 8-10 times per day. This means we are not training him to sleep through the night right now, which brings me to the title of this post!
Samuel's actual age is currently 10 weeks. His adjusted age is only 37 weeks gestation, or he should not even be born yet. That means in some ways he's still kind of like a baby that is at 37 weeks gestation. As we move past his due date he'll have a different kind of adjusted age. His due date is the 28th of this month. That means on the 29th he'll be approximately 3 months actual, but only 1 day adjusted.
Where exactly am I going with all this? Well, we've been given some great advice on how to get Samuel to sleep through the night and for right now, we just have to file it away for when we'll finally be able to start getting him to sleep through the night. For now however the game is, get him to eat as often as we can! Most babies don't come out of the womb sleeping through the night right away (at least that is my understanding) and considering Samuel should not even be out of the womb yet, we have some time to go.
This doesn't affect just sleeping through the night however, there are many developmental markers that work the same way. Obviously every baby is a little different, but things that babies generally do around 3 months of age, is 6 months adjusted for Samuel. So just because he's 3 months old (on his due date) does not mean he'll be able to do the same thing as his 3 month old peers, rather he'll do them with his 3 months adjusted age peers (when he's 6 months actual). Confused yet? Welcome to my world!
I like to look at it this way, for other babies of his adjusted age, he's quite advanced! Most of them are still mooching off their mamas and haven't seen the light of day and Samuel is eating on his own and pooping quite well. So I like to think we have quite the advanced baby for his age! Maybe he'll even be ahead of his adjusted age peers in those developmental markers (though probably behind his actual age peers). All this of course won't matter much in a couple of years.
A quick illustration on why it is so important that Samuel keeps eating frequently: The first couple of days we struggled to get him eating more frequently than 4 hours apart. If you do the math, that does not equal 8 feedings in a day. When the visiting nurse came and weighed him, he had actually dropped 2oz from his discharge weight! Oops! Well, the last couple of days he's been a much better eater and he is now a half an ounce above his discharge weight! (discharge: 5# 14.5oz, Wednesday's weight: 5# 12.5oz, today: 5# 15oz). You see how important it is that we keep him eating as much as we can? I've already resigned myself to probably not remember much of the month of April....
I hope I wasn't too rambly... But I'll stop now, I need to wake that little baby up so he can eat and then I'll pump (oh yeah, still pumping after every feeding...). My time goes quickly with all this feeding stuff going on!
02 April 2012
The Finish Line
As I write this Samuel's discharge papers are getting finished up and Ben is driving home from Nebraska (with a stop in Des Moines). When Ben gets here we'll go through the discharge papers together and bring our little boy home for the first time.
It's all kind of surreal really. I mean all we have known about parenting has been our time in the NICU. As frustrating as it is to be in the NICU it definitely has come with some perks. Now we have to say goodbye to our "babysitters," farewell to 3 meals a day that we don't have to cook and so long to immediate medical assistance when something happens. This will be a new transition of sorts.
We will have a transition kind of like that of regular non NICU new parents, just a little different. Because of the traces of ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) they saw, he's back on oxygen. Apparently there is some evidence that keeping those o2 levels high decreases the growth of ROP. So, he's going home on oxygen (which is kind of scary!). Then there's a positive side, we know our son pretty well already. Most parents start getting to know their baby at the hospital, but then really get to know them at home, we have a bit of a head start on that! Of course, they have warned us, that babies tend to change some when they get home and develop some new patterns. So we'll still be getting to know him!
The last few days have been very uneventful and we actually probably could have gone home yesterday. Over the weekend he was having some borderline temps and the doctor was somewhat hesitant to send him home on Sunday. When talking he asked me what I preferred. I told him that I honestly preferred Monday over Sunday because then Ben could be here to help get him home and set up. So today it is and things continue to go well!
I can't speak for Ben, but I know I am sure going to miss the NICU. I have spent more time in the NICU in 2012 than anywhere else. The staff here have become friends and I will miss seeing them. The doctors and nurses have been just fantastic in every way possible. So as excited as I am to bring our baby home, I am also sad to see this chapter close for other reasons.
This year is going to be different, but as it has already proven, different isn't necessarily bad, in fact so far, different has been amazing! This will be the first year since I studied abroad to not be involved in Holy Week and Easter services, but that's ok. Right now, with Sam's immature immunity system and his needing to conserve some energy for eating, that is what is best for our boy. I don't know when I will start showing up at Church with him, but you can bet when I do, he will be kept very close to me and away from everyone else (at least for a little while). Eventually I will let others touch and hold him, but at first....
I digress... We are going home this afternoon and I can't wait! I think one thing I am looking forward to is him just being there and I don't have to shower before driving over to nurse him, I can shower when it's convenient because I won't be going out into public first thing in the morning!
The next post... will be from our house and no longer from the NICU!
It's all kind of surreal really. I mean all we have known about parenting has been our time in the NICU. As frustrating as it is to be in the NICU it definitely has come with some perks. Now we have to say goodbye to our "babysitters," farewell to 3 meals a day that we don't have to cook and so long to immediate medical assistance when something happens. This will be a new transition of sorts.
We will have a transition kind of like that of regular non NICU new parents, just a little different. Because of the traces of ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) they saw, he's back on oxygen. Apparently there is some evidence that keeping those o2 levels high decreases the growth of ROP. So, he's going home on oxygen (which is kind of scary!). Then there's a positive side, we know our son pretty well already. Most parents start getting to know their baby at the hospital, but then really get to know them at home, we have a bit of a head start on that! Of course, they have warned us, that babies tend to change some when they get home and develop some new patterns. So we'll still be getting to know him!
The last few days have been very uneventful and we actually probably could have gone home yesterday. Over the weekend he was having some borderline temps and the doctor was somewhat hesitant to send him home on Sunday. When talking he asked me what I preferred. I told him that I honestly preferred Monday over Sunday because then Ben could be here to help get him home and set up. So today it is and things continue to go well!
I can't speak for Ben, but I know I am sure going to miss the NICU. I have spent more time in the NICU in 2012 than anywhere else. The staff here have become friends and I will miss seeing them. The doctors and nurses have been just fantastic in every way possible. So as excited as I am to bring our baby home, I am also sad to see this chapter close for other reasons.
This year is going to be different, but as it has already proven, different isn't necessarily bad, in fact so far, different has been amazing! This will be the first year since I studied abroad to not be involved in Holy Week and Easter services, but that's ok. Right now, with Sam's immature immunity system and his needing to conserve some energy for eating, that is what is best for our boy. I don't know when I will start showing up at Church with him, but you can bet when I do, he will be kept very close to me and away from everyone else (at least for a little while). Eventually I will let others touch and hold him, but at first....
I digress... We are going home this afternoon and I can't wait! I think one thing I am looking forward to is him just being there and I don't have to shower before driving over to nurse him, I can shower when it's convenient because I won't be going out into public first thing in the morning!
The next post... will be from our house and no longer from the NICU!
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