22.5 ozs

That's how much Justin ate yesterday. And he took 20 ozs today. I think we've finally figured it out: more pooping = more eating, lol. Unfortunately it also means more throw up and more dirty clothes for Justin & his parents. But I think we've figured that one out though since he only throws up after a 4 oz bottle. So that's easily remedied. Maybe now I'll see that growth spurt I've been hoping for.

Baby Einstein

I decided to break out the Baby Einstein DVD for the first time yesterday. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting but it was pretty boring. Fortunately Justin seemed to like it so I was able to get some work done.

We have poop

and lots of it. I know you're probably thinking why in the world is she talking about this. But if you've been keeping up with the blog you know that Justin's pediatrician thinks his poor eating is associated with his not being regular. So last week she had us start using suppositories and switched from apple to prune juice. The first few days were cool because he was getting the suppositories but he hadn't pooped since last Thursday so I gave him another suppository yesterday. Today he had a nice surprise for me shortly after I got home from work. It was so bad that his entire back was covered in poop and I lost count of how many wipes I used. Good thing it's bath night!

Cookie Monster

Justin hasn't quite gotten the hang of grabbing for things on his own but if you put it in his hands he can hold on to it for a little bit. He even pulled it to his mouth to chew on.

Silly Boy

Medical Update

Justin had an eye appointment this morning and his eyes look good. Since Justin was understandably fussy and Carl didn't have a pacifier the doctor wasn't able to do as comprehensive of an exam as he would've liked. So we have to take him for a follow up appointment in a month. But if his eyes continue to improve his exams will be spaced out farther apart.

After the eye exam Carl took Justin to the NICU to check his oxygen saturation level and to get his blood drawn. At our last DAC appointment the nurse practitioner told us to come to the NICU after his eye exam so we could avoid an extra trip out in this cold. So I'm assuming he was satting well because nothing was mentioned to Carl and he didn't ask. But Justin now weighs 10 lbs, 5 ozs. I'm glad he broke 10 lbs but for some reason I keep waiting for a huge growth spurt.

Everyone was excited to see Justin, but especially Rosette, his former primary care nurse. Carl said as soon as she heard Justin was in the NICU she stopped what she was doing to visit with him. She held him the entire time they were there and wouldn't let anyone else hold him. She was really sad when he left but is excited he's doing well.

It's A Boy...

and Justin's new playmate should be making his arrival on June 17th. In case you're wondering, NO, I'm not pregnant. But Carlene is. I never thought I'd get to be an aunt so I'm super excited. Now if only we can convince Lalla to give us a little girl, lol!

Introducing the Jumperoo

Are you sure my feet aren't supposed to be touching something, maybe the floor

Excuse me, I can't see

I'm not impressed

I'm having more fun with my hands

I guess it's not that bad afterall

Eating Problems

So Justin’s eating, or lack thereof, hasn’t improved. For his weight he should be eating between 20 -25 ozs daily. His daily average is 12 -15 ozs, not even close. And the addition of juice hasn’t helped make him any regular. If anything it’s caused more problems because he gags and chokes on the juice because it’s so thin and he’s throwing up more. But a post on a preemie message board I frequent got me thinking that maybe Justin is lactose intolerant. I called his doctor yesterday to discuss but she wasn’t in the office so I left a message and hopefully she’ll call tomorrow. But someone needs to figure it out because I’m tired. Tired of Justin not eating, tired of fighting to get him to eat, tired of wasted formula, tired of not knowing what’s wrong.

4 months (adjusted)

You want me to sleep where, continued

I think someone's been talking to mommy and putting silly thoughts in her head to keep putting me in my crib because she tried it again last night. But that's okay, it actually wasn't that bad. I had this soothing waterfall toy and my arm to keep me company. I thought I was being good by giving mommy and daddy a break. But I don't think they took advantage because every now and then someone kept coming in my room and putting their hand on my chest. I guess they figured they were checking in on me to make sure I was okay. So, since mommy seems to listen to you guys, can you do me a favor and tell her to stop worrying about me. I'm a big boy!

Justin

Justin says...

0-16, so easy the Lions could do it

What Justin really thinks about the Lions 0-16 season. Now, if we can just convince his father NOT to buy season tickets next year.

You want me to sleep where?

I had just finished my bottle and fell asleep in mommy's arms. Next thing I know she's trying to put me down in this strange new place. I think it's called a crib but I didn't like it one bit. It's not nice and comfy like my bassinet. And it's definitely not as comfy as sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed which I just started doing because I love snuggling with mommy. So I started crying and mommy picked me up and rocked me back to sleep. But no sooner than I drifted off to sleep again she tried to put me back in that thing. What was she thinking? I was not having that and started crying again. Mommy picked me up and took me to sleep with her and daddy. I'm really learning this how to get what you want trick, lol. But I think mommy and daddy want some alone time. I often hear daddy complaining about not getting enough quality time with mommy. Doesn't he know it's all about me. Just kidding, I should probably give him a break. After all, he did take really good care of me when mommy was in NY.

Justin

Doctor's Appointment

Dr. Hirsch is very happy with Justin's weight gain (from 8lbs 7 ozs to 9 lbs 13 ozs in 4 weeks). When she walked into the exam room she smiled and said "someones getting fat", lol. She didn't get a chance to plot his growth on the chart but she mentioned that at this point (almost 4 months adjusted) babies growth tends to slow down and they no longer expect them to gain between 1/2 oz - 1 oz per day, so his 22 oz gain was more than sufficient.

We discussed my concerns about Justin's eating habits. Normally she would be concerned but since he gained really well and it's been less than a week since I noticed a change she didn't see the need to switch things up just yet. But she did give me a few tricks to try so we'll see if those help. She was concerned about his infrequent stools and thinks this may be contributing to his eating problems. Sometimes Justin will go 5 or 6 days without a poopy diaper and she'd like to see them at a minimum every other day. So Justin will get 2 ozs of apple juice daily to help regulate him.

She was also concerned about his daytime sleeping habits. In short, he sleeps too much. I know some of you will say "well look at his parents", lol, but how do you keep a baby up? He falls asleep during tummy time, playing on his activity mat, in the bumbo, in his swing, in our arms. And don't even think about waking him up, he gets really cranky. So we'll have to work on keeping him up and active.

But I am so happy we switched pediatricians. His previous pediatrician was very dismissive when I voiced concerns and offered no advice or guidance whatsoever. And when she did answer questions it would be something idiotic like, "He won't eat, well what are you going to do". What do you mean, that's your job to tell me what to do and offer suggestions/tricks.

This is only Dr. Hirsch's 2nd time seeing Justin but she was very impressed with his progress. She said that at this visit he seemed more like a baby than a fragile preemie, and she was pleasantly surprised at how alert and responsive he was. His personality is definitely starting to show. I think he's going to be a flirt with the ladies, lol.

OMG, he rolled!

Justin was taking a nap and I ran upstairs to use the bathroom. When I came back downstairs and checked on him he was on his back. I'm so excited, he's rolled from side to back before but never from back to stomach or vice versa. I wish I could've seen him do it, but I'm sure there will be plenty more times.

BEFORE - yes, I put him back so you could see how he was laying before he rolled

AFTER

I Still Don't Get It

Eating - We, or should I say Justin, was doing so well with his feedings. In early December he started taking 2.5 ozs per feed. And shortly after I came back from NY he started eating 3 ozs per feed. But this past weekend he started back tracking, sometimes only taking 1 oz. On top of that he sleeps all day and only wakes up to eat 4 times a day. I know he should be taking at least 6 bottles a day so we started waking him up to eat but he fusses and refuses to eat. So we're lucky if we can get a 5th bottle in there. Maybe it's time to switch formula, but last time I asked the NICU doctors about it they didn't see the need to change since he's been on Neosure for so long and has been tolerating it well. Maybe I need to switch to a fast flow nipple, but he's been able to get his food from the medium flow nipple when and if he actually sucks. But if he's not fussing he just likes to play with the nipple. Fortunately we have an appointment with his pediatrician tomorrow so we'll see what she says.

Sleeping - So Justin is capable of sleeping through the night (STTN), he just doesn't do it consistently. He actually started STTN a few months ago. He started off sleeping from midnight to 6 and then we decided to try putting him down at 10 pm and he would still sleep until about 6. But that stopped right as I was going back to work (perfect timing isn't it) and from that point on it's been hit or miss. Some nights he'll STTN, other nights he'll wake up once or twice. I can't really complain, most times it's just for a diaper change and then he'll go right back to sleep.

Check Out My Shoes

Justin wore shoes for the first time today. I think he's still trying to figure out if he likes them or not. I was talking to a friend the other day whose son is wearing size 2's and I mentioned that I couldn't imagine Justin in shoes. But I figured by the time I finally got around to putting him in shoes they would probably be too small so I thought I'd give it a shot. Needless to say he still has time to grow into them but in Carl's words "my son is fresh now", lol!

Just Sitting Around

Justin's first time in the Bumbo

Look Mom, I Can Feed Myself

0-3 Months

Justin is starting the new year wearing size 0-3 month clothes. At 9 lbs 4 ozs (as of x-mas eve) he actually still fits in some newborn clothes, mainly onesies and lounge/sweat pants, but most of his outfits are pretty snug on him.