Howdy! Just wanted to give a few random tid bits from happenings throughout the lovely fall season :)
- A couple of weeks ago we went to the pumpkin patch which is always fun! We tried a new patch out this year, one a little closer to our house and well, it was lame.... so we packed up and went back to the one we've been going too for the last couple of years. Got some cute pumpkins, yummy funnel cakes and all around had a great day.
- Halloween was a great success except for the horrible cold Mr Mikey picked up going to his two houses to trick or treat. We started the night off helping Mommy pass out candy or, more accurately trying to take a nap while the doorbell rang every 10 minutes... besides a VERY strange encounter with a teenage girl who tried to take the entire bowl of candy (like, she tried to grab the bowl and leave)... that went well. We got more T&T'ers then last year but the activity pretty much died down after the first hour. But, the lack of kiddies worked out okay since Mr Mikey had to get ready to go out and get him some delicious candy (okay, we ate it.... dont tell him....). Once Daddy got home from work we threw the little man in the car and went over to Mayas house to say hi. She was Jessie from Toy Story. We said hi for a minute then went over to Daddys friends house for a minute just to say hi. We wanted to take him to one "official" house and they live around the corner so that was it.
- Unfortunately the next day Mr Grumps woke up with a terrible cold :( We let him ride it out for a couple of days and he wasnt better so we took him to the doc just to make sure he was okay since he hadnt started his RSV shots yet and they said he was just stuffy but his lungs were perfectly clear and the "gunk" was working its way out so he was fine. He's finally better besides the occasional cough now though.
- Last week Mr Mikey also met his "Uncle" Tony (finally!) and saw "Uncle" Jr. again, he likes them and thinks they are very funny!
- Today we went to get his first RSV shot... RSV is a bad respiratory infection preemies are at risk for since they have weak lungs. He'll get one each month through March. And btw, we are quite thankful we have insurance bec/ these shots cost at least $1500 each month! (nurse said they used to be $1500 but they've gone up). Mikeys's pretty used to shots by now and doesnt actually cry until after shes already pulled the needle back out so he's a champ. O and he weighs 17lbs 5oz... so he porked up a bit more then i expected since his Dr. visit on the 14th.
- After his shot we had a little time to kill since his appointment was at 10:00 and they took us back at 9:45 (what doctor is early?! awesome!)and we had to kill time until Daddy's dentist appointment at 11:30 so we went to visit some of Mikeys favorite ladies in the NICU. Unfortunately his primary nurse Kelly wasnt there but he did get to see his favorite receptionist Sandy and a few of the other nurses he had along with Dr. Lee. They all think hes adorable, of course... and can't believe its been 6 months since he's discharged. Sandy took a ton of pictures of him and promised she would show them to everyone :)
And i think thats it! Next week we have a follow up flu shot (apparently when you get your first flu shot you need to get two doses?)and then we just have Thanksgiving to look forward too! Mikey is VERY excited to see Mimi, Grammy, Grandad, Aunt Stephie and Uncle Jeff!
Hello our faithful followers... all um, 3 of you? no one comments anymore so i dont know if anyones out there...
Anyway,Mr Mikey had his 9 month pediatrician check up on the 14th and all is well. He weighs 15lbs 11ish oz, which we were a little surprised about we thought he would be bigger bec/ when we weigh him at home he's at least 16lbs but i guess the difference is the time of day, clothes etc... who knows. Not a big deal. Anyway, he's 26 1/2 inches and i dont remember how big his head is but apparently his head has had a growth spurt bec/ its now on the curve for his actual age (which explains why the hat for his Halloween costume doesnt fit :P). I believe for his adjusted age he's still around the 50th percentile for weight and a little more for height. He continued to "jump" up the curve a bit instead of following it so the doctor thinks maybe by his 12 or 15 month check ups he might be on the curve for actual age. All he asked about development wise was if he can roll over, so i guess we're doing fine with milestones, though he can do a ton more. Right now we're working on sitting up and "Army crawling". He can sit alone for a a little while if we put him in position (he can't get there himself)and can scoot along a little bit to get a toy if he wants it. His main problem with working on crawling is as soon as we put him down on his tummy he rolls right over, so, yeah. Other then that the appointment was uneventful he just got his hep B vaccine and flu shot and we were on our way. O and we scheduled his RSV shots that he'll have to get starting in November. Poor baby has to get them for 5 months, but i dont think he'll mind since he didnt cry about his flu shot until AFTER Daddy picked him up. Silly boy.
I think i forgot to update after his last eye doctor appointment but the doctor that he sees to monitor his ROP has officially given the "all clear" as far as that goes and we dont see him again for a year. I really hate eye appointments because they take at least 2 hours, so this is very exciting news. In the meantime he's supposed to see a regular eye doctor to start watching for nearsightedness. If he ends up needing glasses (which is fairly likely, especially with family history of glasses anyway), he'll probably start to show signs between 12 and 18 months.
But anyway, he's doing great. He loves skyping with his Mimi, his exersaucer and any toy that makes noise, Sophie the giraffe and his little colored ball with the taggies on it. He's wearing 6-9 month clothes and loves carrots and applesauce. His number 1 love is sucking on blankets or "Buddy" the bear while he's trying to fall asleep. Right now he's sleeping with this thumb AND a blanket in his mouth :)He just got a walker, because he LOVES to stand and try to walk around but unfortunately he's no where near able to reach the floor :( Hopefully it wont take too long before he can use it.
Sorry its been a while, there really isnt too much going on in our world so we dont really have much to talk about! Okay, that's not true we had a very exciting weekend at Aunt Stephanie and UNCLE Jeff's wedding! Mikey, acting as ring bearer got to see many fabulous family members and friends that he's never met before so he greatly enjoyed that! He's a ladies man, what can we say? :) Pics of him (and the rest of us) in our wedding outfits coming as soon as someone sends some too us ::coughcoughmomcoughcough:: Maya was a fabulous flower girl as well, although trying to pick the flowers back up off the ground during the ceremony wasnt exactly part of the plan...(and yes she did pick them all back up after the ceremony was over) Anywho, we had a great weekend and are happy we were able to be a part of the fabulous day.For those of you who are curious, Mikey's pretty good in the car... basically sleeps the whole time until we're about a half hour from our destination at which time he somehow knows we're close and wakes up and screams. O well, at least its not the whole time right?
Today we went to Mr. Crowe's follow up urology appointment to check on his kidney dilation as well as a follow up check on his hernia surgery. Everything checked out excellently, everything is passing through his kidneys the way it should be. We can discontinue his antibiotics as he's not longer at risk for getting a UTI. Yay! Dr. also said his scars from surgery look great. He'll have a follow up in a year but the book on urology problems is closed for now.
Besides one last eye doctor appointment next week, all of his preemie issues are resolved. Now our goal is just to make sure he keeps progressing on target with his development. So, speaking of development
For those who've forgotten (:)) Michael is now almost 8 months old! YIKES! He's been home for exactly 4 months now and is about 4 months adjusted age. Just for the heck of it here's a list of skills Michael should have learned by the end of his third month - all of which he can do.
# Raises head and chest when put on tummy # Lifts head up 45 degrees # Kicks and straightens legs when on back # Open and shuts hands # Pushes down with legs when placed on a hard surface # Reaches for dangling objects # Grasps and shakes hand toys # Tracks moving objects # Begins to imitate sounds # Recognizes familiar objects and people, even at a distance # Begins to develop a social smile # Begins to develop hand-eye coordination # Brings both hands together # Interested in circular and spiral patterns # Kicks legs energetically
Havent had much to report lately, its been pretty quiet around here but just thought we'de check in. Doctors visits have been getting fewer and fewer in the last few weeks and amazingly enough we've only been to three in the past month (which for us is hardly any...)! (and two were unexpected!). Last Friday Mr Mikey had his renal scan to follow up with his hydronephrosis. They had to sedate the poor lil guy in order to scan him, which i'm thinking he's not a huge fan of because it takes him a little while to wake up and while he does he's very unhappy :( We dont have the final results from the scan (we see the urologist at the end of the month) but the anesthesiologist said from what he knows, things are looking good and he may no longer have the blockage. If thats true, this will pretty much be his last preemie issue that needed to be resolve! Woo Hoo.
We've also been to the pediatrician twice now for an ear infection/cold... we went couple of weeks ago because Michael was super grumpy and tugging on his ear, and he did infact have an ear infection. He was better for a few days but yesterday he woke up a little congested and hoarse sounding when he cries so we took him back in. The antibiotics they had him on for the first ear infection didnt work at all or the infection just decided to come back for some reason. Who knows... but he's on a new antibiotic this time, saline drops and a vaporizer and he should be good as new in a couple of days. Follow up to check on his ear in a couple of weeks. Hopefully this wont turn into an on going issue.
Sorry its taken me so long to surgery update, after getting home late Tuesday we turned right around and left for Ohio Thursday morning so i was busy busy packing all day Wednesday!
First off Sunday night was also a very exciting day for Michael bec/ he got to meet Grandad (Crowe) for the first time (as well as the rest of the family obviously)! He thought it was pretty awesome that Grandad has the same intials as him and Daddy :) Unfortunately i forgot to put the memory card back in the camera before we left so i only have a phone pic but here's one anyway.
So, onto surgery... Monday Michael had his surgery to fix his bilateral hernias in his groin area. It was a super long day, his surgery was scheduled for 10:45am (which actually started at 8:45am because they called us and told us to come early for some reason) so he couldn't eat past 2am... he woke up to eat but didn't really finish so when his surgery didn't start until almost 1 we were starting to get nervous a freak out was on its way. Luckily, he slept almost all morning... Mommy and Daddy were starving though! So he went back finally at 12:30, looking adorable in his tiny hospital gown The surgery took an hour and a half when the doctor finally came out and told us he had the worst set of hernias he's seen in years. It was completely inflamed and there was a lot of tissue and it was just a mess in there, he kept saying it was very "tedious". When we got back to see him our poor baby finally realized he was hungry and didn't feel good so he was screaming like a maniac. We felt so bad for him We finally got some formula for him but he was soooo grumpy for the rest of the day. He cried so much he was hoarse and he had a cough :( He had a bit of a rough night but as of Tuesday morning he's completely fine, you cant even tell he's had anything done The doctor said he's in no pain and the only special care he needs is no full body bath for a week (which ended yesterday). We also got a surprise visit from Michael's favorite NICU nurse (HI Emily!). We think its so awesome that she took the time to come up and visit him. Anywho, so we're back home now and he's doing great, besides his two bloody scars (they have steri strips on his incisions) you wouldnt know anything had happened to him. He has a follow up with the surgeon sometime in August but otherwise that should be all on the hernia front unless he ends up being in the 1% that needs a repeat surgery someday.
Michael and Emily (sorry its blurry, i must have something set wrong on my camera :()
Then Thursday morning we left for Ohio... we had a couple few rough spots during the ride there but all in all it wasnt too bad. The trip itself was excellent, Michael got to meet lots of family/friends that have been waiting to see him for a long time and of course see his favorite Mimi and Aunt Stephanie again. Mike also got to meet one of his xbox friends who lives in Columbus and have lots of fun jet skiing and ATV-ing with them! Despite an hour+ of traffic on the way home he was EXCELLENT and didnt cry at all! (i'll post pics from the trip when i get some from other peoples cameras). And Michael says thanks Brandi and Susan for the gifts!
Coming up in the next couple of weeks we have a renal scan to check on his kidney dilation and then a follow up with that urologist (different one from his surgery doc)and probably a trip to Grammies at some point. And other then that, we're just getting ready for Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Jeff's wedding in about a month! Wait till you guys see the little man in his wedding outfit, its only the most adorable thing ever
Hello all, i'll write a more in depth recap of our weekend later but i just wanted to write a quick note and let everyone know that Michael is doing fine after his surgery. He is very grumpy but alert and coming out of his anesthesia fine. Hopefully he'll be able to fall asleep for the night and wake up feeling better. Thank you all for your thoughts as always
Hey guys! We've had a couple of doctor visits in the last couple of days so here's the reports!
First off we had a bit of an unexpected visit to the Dr yesterday morning when Michael woke up with bloody streaks in his right eye. We figured he had just poked himself or something but we're a little on edge when it comes to things involving his baby blue's so the doctor said to go ahead and bring him in for a quick check. So he put these drops in them real fast then turned on a black light and his eye glowed florescent green! It was awesome, he looked like a superhero! Haha. Turns out he did somehow poke himself... while sleeping swaddled... yeah figure that on out... and its not goopy or anything so its not infected. He's fine and the abrasion will heal we just need to put ointment in there 3-4 times a day (which btw is quite difficult!).
So now onto the scheduled visit, we took Michael in for his 6 month pediatrician check today and he said he's doing excellent! He's a tad bit larger then i thought... 11lbs 11oz and 23 1/2 inches. For his adjusted age he's in the 50th percentile for both height and weight! (of course i know my baby is WAY better then average :)) His doctor likes to chart his growth on adjusted and non adjusted and he said he's even starting to "catch up" on the curve since eventually he'll start being charted with his actual age instead so he does both.
We mostly talked about his feedings and the doc gave us the go ahead to try either food or some rice cereal, just something to get his mouth working and get used to having a spoon in there to tighten up his mouth muscles. We asked about teething because we've thought he might have a tooth coming in for a while now and he said its possible but you can't really tell for sure until its out so he doesnt really check for them... but if he is getting one where we think, it would be totally abnormal for him to be getting a top tooth first. Theres my special boy, doing things differently. Otherwise the only other thing that had to be discussed was his flat spot on his head and the DR thinks its rounding out wonderfully.
After that the nurse came back and he got some blood taken to see if he's still anemic... not sure when we'll get the results from that but hopefully he's not so we can discontinue his iron drops... they are super smelly so i image they can't taste that great! We followed up a finger prick with three shots and by that point the little guy was pretty grumpy! He's a sleepy boy tonight but he's doing fine.
In other news Michael had a fabulous first 4th of July which included a party with Daddys friends, delicious grilled food (chicken, hamburgers, corn on the cob, pasta sald, salad, potatoes, brownies, cake..mmmmmmmmmmmmmm) and fireworks. Everyone loved the food and i'm pretty sure the guests made the food at their own houses the next day!
Next week we have a big week - Michaels hernia surgery is Monday so we'll be sure to update after that and then Thursday we'll be embarking on our first road trip to Ohio to go to Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Jeff's wedding shower! Tata for now folks!
Well now that Michael's been home for two months I thought i would share the products that we have found to be the most useful and the ones that were pretty much a waste of money. Of course we are by means no baby experts but it never hurts to have another opinion right?
The Boppy (or similar) pillow... we actually have the Boppy knockoff from Walmart but i like this better because it has the support thing so the baby does slide all the way out of the pillow. This is useful for.... pretty much everything, baby can sit or lay on it, you can put it around your waist for support while feeding or baby can have tummy time on it. This is one of our most used items! Like I said we have this one from Walmart but Boppys are at Target and Babies R Us also.
Next we have bottles, there are SO many different types of bottles its kind of hard to decide which ones to use... we like Playtex Vent Aire and Soothie brand bottles. Vent Aire's are excellent at keeping bubbles out of babies tummy. They are a little bit of a pain to clean because there are so many different parts but its worth the trouble. We purchased Soothie bottles because they have the same nipple as Soothie pacifiers, which Michael had been using in the NICU for months... we figured if he had any trouble transitioning from hospital bottles to bottles at home (which he didn't) this might help. While i generally find bottle "gift sets" to be a waste... you can only use the smaller bottles for a few months... the Soothie one is actually pretty awesome because it comes with these storage containers for formula (or small snacks like cheerios) that snap onto the bottom of the bottle. The bottle cap also snaps onto the bottom of the formula container so everything is easy to just snap together and keep all together when you're out of the house. The set also comes with a bottle brush and extra pacifier. We usually use Vent Aire's in the house and Soothie when we go places. Vent Aire’s are available anywhere, Target, Walmart or Babies R Us but Soothie bottles are only buyable through online sites like Walmart or Amazon.
The next items have become lifesavers in our house. Michael is a pro at getting out of regular swaddles with receiving blankets. First we have the Halo sleep sack that we were using before we got the Miracle Blanket. The Halo one is excellent because its a wearable blanket with swaddle attachment that keeps arms in.... so even after we stop swaddling its still a blanket. After a couple of weeks Michael started figuring out how to get his arms out of this though... so we had to start searching for new options. That is when we stumbled upon the Miracle Blanket. This thing is awesome! There is no way his little arms can sneak out and a swaddled baby who is unable to move his arms is a MUCH calmer sleeping baby. Its hard to explain how they work so you have to just Google and find a video but we seriously love this thing. Both of these items are available at Target but the official Miracle Blanket website has other patterns (we have a blue camo one)
Toiletries for baby are another thing where you just have to figure out what works for you… Michael used traditional Johnson and Johnson in the NICU so we stocked up on those. Unfortunately he has very sensitive skin on his face so J&J was really drying him out. We tried Aveeno baby wash which is much more moisturizing, which worked much better for him. So now we use J&J on his body and Aveeno on his face. Luckily Michael’s had no reaction from lotion so we use a bunch of different kinds, favorites are Aveeno lavender and J&J oatmeal vanilla. These are all available anywhere
Our next item is for the paranoid Momma (and Daddy) – the car mirror. There have been several occasions where Michaels head has fallen forward and I would have had no clue if I didn’t have a mirror, so this is just an obvious must JWe have this one (Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Musical Mirror), but there are a million different types out there
Also for the paranoid parents, the Angel Care baby monitor. This monitor has a sensor pad that goes under the crib mattress that alerts parents with a really loud alarm if there is no breathing/movement for more then 20 seconds. We thought since there were a couple of occasions in the NICU where Michael would have apneas while sleeping (not to mention just the general risk of SIDS) that this would help us sleep a little better at night. The only drawback of this is Michael is a CRAZY sleeper and can move off the sensor despite being swaddled and sleeping in a sleep positioned… so sometimes he sets it off and scares us for no reason.
We also just got the Graco Swing - N- Bounce last week, its an excellent option for someone who doesnt want baby items to take over their living room. The swing and bouncy seat in one! We havent used it much since it just came but like i said it saves space and costs less the many regular swings so its worth it to me! The pattern we liked was only on overstock but there are other ones at Babies R Us and Amazon
Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker – we did not have a bouncy seat at first so we purchased this and Michael likes it… and its great because it has 40lbs weight limit (most bouncy seats don’t go beyond 20 lbs). Purchased at Target
The safety first bottle medicine dispenser is probably not an essential for most people, but since Michael is on antibiotics every night we use this… its way easier for him to just such this like a bottle rather then trying to squirt meds into his mouth with a dropper. We got ours at Babies R Us but I’m sure you could get it other places
Other items that don’t really require long descriptions include
-Diaper genie, I don’t really understand why people think these are pointless , it keeps the smell contained and is easy to use. Yeah you have to buy refills for it but each refill has lasted over a month for us so its not exactly a huge expense.
-The crib aquarium we have isn’t available anymore apparently but Michael loves to watch and listen to his
And FINALLY for those babies who are not fans of bath time… Michael used to hate being naked… the Bath Luve! Of course you could just use a regular wash cloth or towel but this is big enough to lay over the entire body at the same time
And if anyone is still reading, hope you find this helpful!
Later on I’ll write up what items we haven’t really used! As well as the exciting part two of this continuing series, our favorite products the next few months! :)
Sorry its been a while, things are pretty chill here so there isnt much to write about! Since i've last update we've had two appointments...
We went too see another high risk development specialist run by the hospital he was born at... that doc said he's great also. The only thing he told us is to watch to make sure his head isnt flattening on the right side since he favors that one. He most definitely favors that and does have a little flat spot because of it... this will most likely self correct as he is more active and isnt just laying down so much. If it gets really bad he would have to wear a corrective helmet that would reshape it for him. Hopefully it wont come to that but its a possibility. This was a couple of weeks ago now but at the time he weighed 10lbs 4oz.
And then after that, we went to another urologist for his hernia, thats all still fine, the doctor is very pleased that its still soft and he's been able to put off his surgery until he's over 10lbs. He said babies who get them repaired before 10lbs often need to do it again at some point. Anyway, he's scheduled for surgery July 12th. He'll spend one night in the hospital, mostly just to make sure he's okay with the anesthesia and after that point he'll just go for a follow up later to remove the steri strip. He said he wont really feel any pain and the recovery is a piece of cake. We had to reschedule his renal scan for his kidneys because it happened to be on the same day as the surgery.
Our next appointment is the pediatrician for his 6 month shots and checkup on July 7th.
Milestone wise, we're right on track. He LOVES to smile whenever someone talks to him. His head control is continuously improving and he's rolled over 3 or 4 times. Once he can really pick up his head it'll be much easier for him but he can do it if he throws his head over to one side the rest of his body follows :) We sleep great, from about 9:30 - 6:30 everyday and he's even able to soothe himself to sleep which i've heard is impressive for his age. He's been insanely grumpy lately though, we think he might be getting a tooth on the top :(
Other then that we have just been hanging out! We had a great Father's Day at Medieval Times in MD. Horses, Swords, Jousting, Knights and delicious food! I recommend anyone that lives near one of these should totally go. That is all! I'll update after his pediatrician appt.
Well, its been a little bit of a busy week this week so there are a few things to update on! First off, Maya had a class picnic was Tuesday night and her awards ceremony was Wednesday... she did excellent this year and got an award for knowing all of her math problems and spelling words. Yay! Thursday was Mikes first day back at work in over a month... i think the little man and i handled it pretty well :) I managed to get the dishes done and dinner made before he got home :) Oh and the wonderful ladies there got him a delicious cake. MMMM
Friday morning we went to a weight check with the pediatrician... Mikey is up to 10lbs even(though when we weighed him at home he was 10.3, who knows) and 22inches. I believe this puts him in about the 25% percentile so he's growing well. The doctor does want us to increase his feedings a little just to help him catch up to other babies his (adjusted) age but as of right now he said he's growing great. The rash on his face is clearing up pretty good and the red bumps all over the back of his neck is heat rash and there is nothing we can do about it, especially with it being so hot outside (duh). Not really an important appointment, they just wanted to check his weight. He goes back in a few weeks for another i think.
After the doctor the occupational therapist for Birth to Tree came to evaluate Michael. This therapist in particular specializes in feedings so that's why we picked this one. He watched Mikey eat a bottle and said that his tongue sticking out when he drinks (he kinds of rests it on his bottom lip while he's sucking) could resolve on its own but it can also need physical therapy to strength his jaw muscles. Since he also has trouble holding his pacifier in his mouth this can be another factor. In the therapists opinion, he would benefit from therapy even if its only once a month or so to check on is progress... but he's very borderline on whether or not he will qualify for the program. He has to show a 40% delay in one area (the development or the OT), a 20% delay in both or have those 5 risk factors i talked about before. The development therapists report said he is fine right now so that leaves it all up to the OT if he qualifies. Its kind of stinks for him because apparently they changed it a couple of years ago from needing 4 factors to 5. While of course we want him to be "normal" and not need any therapies... we have to be proactive and recognize if he needs a little help so we would rather have him do therapy when he COULD go without it then the other way around if that makes sense. Even if he doesnt qualify he's going to show us some exercises we can do with him to help tighten up his jaw.
AND most exciting! Friday afternoon after we got Maya... we set up our little pool in the yard and Mikey had his first swim. He hated it because it was cold but hopefully he'll do better in the future :) Saturday was just a long day of errands... Toys R Us for a few items, then we hit the mall to scope out some essentials for Stephanie's (My sister's) wedding. We were in search for a suit and flower girl shoes. Got some cute silver shoes and reaffirmed that Mike is an impossible size to buy for at a regular store - thus our journey to find a good suit began. We tried JCP and of course they didnt have anything begin enough, boo on that because they are having an excellent suit sale. After that we went to Jos. A. Bank and they had something that fit but it was 700 dollars with a ton of alterations. Sigh.. they are having a 60% off sale at the end of the month so at least that was good, but wow. So after that we went to Mens Warehouse, thankfully they have separates that actually fit! We had to order the jacket because the husband is a whopping size 54 jacket! So that was a long day, but at least we've got that all worked out and all we have left to buy is shoes for Mike and Mikey! Yay!
Just a quick update on our developmental evaluation from last Friday. The therapist came to the house and did a number of tests with Michael to decide if he's on track with his developmental age, which is now 5, almost 6 weeks. These tests included seeing how long he can hold his head up, whether he tracks things with his eyes, make eye contact, his range of motion with his arms and legs, batting at toys, and whether or not he can hold things. He passed most of the tests on point, some he scored directly for his age and a couple even scoring higher then he should have. The only thing he doesn't do is grasp things but they said that is up to a 3 month skill so no need for concern there. His head control is getting better and better also, they said he should have basically full control by 3 months. He still has the occupational therapist appointment this Friday but as of right now they are not thinking he will qualify for the therapies at this point. The OT is basically coming to check on his feedings since he still has that issue with sticking out his tongue while he's sucking and just to make sure his spitting up is normal. After he comes we'll get the official reports and have a meeting to see if he'll need any therapy at this point. But, like i said it doesnt seem like he will for right now.
In other news we're sleeping pretty good, most nights we have a 5-7 hour stretch and then another 4-5 hours after he eats... not bad! An official weigh in will be next Friday but we're probably somewhere in the 10 - 10.5lbs range. Daddy weighed himself at the doctor last week then weighed himself holding him and it was about 10lbs more... so yeah :) Thats all!
Today was Michael's follow up eye appointment with the eye doctor he was seeing in the NICU. Now lets just remind you, Mikey is not a fan of eye exams and now i know why! First they put a bunch of drops in there to dilate his eyes then they use these crazy looking things to hold open his eyes while they look in them. He actually didn't mind the things that held his eyes open but he was not thrilled when the doctor touched his eyes. All in all he did pretty good. The decision for now is that the laser surgery was a success and the ROP is gone. As for what he can see, well obviously we don't know yet but babies his age basically have great vision... he said at his next appointment in July if he could talk babies his age would be able to read the eye chart. Since obviously babies that young can't talk yet they just sort of wait to know what he can see until later on. Right now we have to watch and make sure his eyes "tighten up" and make sure he doesnt have a lazy eye. Thats all on the eye front.
Birth to three a program run by the state came out last week (they come to the house) and set up a couple of therapy evaluations to see if Michael qualifies for on going therapy. He has to meet 5 things off the list of criteria and right now he only meets 4 (low birth weight, low gestation period, parental concern (whatever that means), and his ROP ) so he might not qualify. But, they come out and fully evaluate him anyway... he has a general developmental therapist and an occupational therapist who will be seeing him and after they see how he's doing they'll decide if he qualifies for the whole program. He's actually doing fairly well with development to his adjusted age so we'll see. If he doesnt qualify right now we can have them come back and reevaluate him later later if he shows delays in walking, talking or has vision problems or things like that.
Besides all the medical stuff, we're doing great. Michael is sleeping a little longer at night and that is always great news :) I'm a little tired of not being able to go out anywhere, but soon enough we'll be able to venture out more and more. We might make his first big outing the NICU reunion on the 6th. Can't really think of anything else to write so goodnight!
And as a closing note, his Daddy would like to add that he is the awesomest kid on the planet :)
Well all, the first few weeks have been going excellent so far! Of course we prefer Michael would sleep a little more but, well... he is a "newborn" after all so no sleep is to be expected. We'll take no sleep as long as we can have our baby home with us!
Since being discharged Michael's been to three doctors appointments. First he went to the cardiologist who gave him an excellent report... his PDA is closed (remember that pesky PDA from his first month of life??) so that is excellent! The doctor did an echo cardiogram and EKG and gave him an "all clear" report. He still has his PFO but this causes no issues in life unless he wants to be a career scuba diver or fighter pilot. There is no need for follow up with cardio.
Next he went to the urologist to check on his kidneys. Just a refresher he has hydronephrosis which is dilation of his kidney. This could resolve on its own but maybe not. I'm not really sure what kind of issues (if any) this will cause him if it doesnt resolve but for now its no big deal... follow up scan in July. She also said his hernia looks good, though shes not the one dealing with that a doctor at Fairfax will be doing his surgery whenever that time comes. We need to make a follow up appointment for that but they said to check back when he's around 6 months or 10lbs
And then finally he went to the pediatrician on the 10th, who also gave him a good report. He got his 4 month shots and otherwise it was fairly uneventful. At his appointment he weighed 8lbs 6oz so he is gaining weight well (at discharge he was 7lbs 8oz) so almost a pound in a week. Don't know what he weighs right now but I'm guessing around 9lbs? Maybe more, who knows. His newborn sized jammies are getting a little too short on him so he must be growing!
Coming up in the next month or so we have a weight check at the pediatrician, the kidney scan, a development clinic at Fairfax, an eye doctors appointment and the "birth to three" program offered by the state
We aren't entirely sure what birth to three is, i guess they assess his development and help us get him therapies and such if he needs them. We'll find out more tomorrow when they come over to get him signed up.
So stay tuned folks, there are many fabulous things on the horizon!
Welcome to our new blog! Now that Michael is out of the hospital we will be continuing to document his progress (and everything else we do) here! So welcome!
