Reached his Due Date!

We’ve been home from the hospital now for one month. Everyone is adjusting well especially now that Emerson is eating about every 3-4 hours instead of every 2-3. A little extra sleep at night at least! He has been sleeping pretty well, although he seems to prefer his crib to his cradle, I think the cradle mattress isn’t very comfortable so we ordered a better one and hopefully he’ll sleep more soundly in his cradle then. He is still spitting up quite a bit and started choking on it sometimes in the night, which was very alarming to us but the doctor said it’s nothing to worry about. His due date was May 8th, kind of exciting since his adjusted age is what we have to go by for reaching milestones and all that. So developmentally he is considered to be a one week old instead of his actual age of 11 weeks. He is reaching milestones ahead of schedule though. He is holding his head up very well now and is attempting to roll over. It’s pretty amusing to watch, he gets everything up off the floor except his head so his feet are way up in the air. He now weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces and is 20” long! However, he is still small even for his adjusted age though so we will have to continue fortifying his breast milk with the NeoSure. I was looking forward to being able to stop but it looks like we’ll have to do it for a while yet. The doctor said he is very strong for his age and is growing well so we can’t ask for much more! He still has to stay away from crowds though so I don’t think he will be able to go to his baby shower which is rescheduled for the 6th of June. He is starting to have longer periods of time where he is awake and alert, which is fun for us. He likes toys with lights and music and especially enjoys his GloWorm. My c-section incision has finally closed most of the way, after 11 long weeks! Still a bit sore though depending on what I do. Hopefully next time around I won’t have any complications! We’re busy planning our trip to Sioux Falls for Emerson’s Dr. Appointment. It’s a bit more complicated since he is getting pumped breast milk so I’ll have to pump in the car a few times and keep it refrigerated. Should be interesting!

Two Months Old!

Emerson turned two months old yesterday! He had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday and he weighs 6 pounds 3 ounces and is 19” long. He is definitely growing well. He seems to have a little issue with reflux, so we started feeding him smaller amounts more frequently so he won’t be in so much pain. He takes in about 15 ounces over a 24 hour period, which is pretty good for his size. He goes to the doctor every 2 weeks to check on his weight gain and everything. This last time he had his blood drawn to check his hematocrit level because it was low before we left the NICU. Thankfully though it had increased so he won’t need a blood transfusion! Even though he is two months old, he won’t be getting his 2 month immunizations until he reaches 10 pounds, so we have a while to wait yet. He is started to make different noises and is more alert. He holds his head up pretty well when you are holding him and when he is on his stomach. He turns on his side quite a bit but can’t yet roll over without a little help. He just got the new precious planet mobile and he loves watching the light show on it and the music seems to calm him pretty well. The doctor did confirm that we have to stay inside pretty much until fall at least, so that will be a little hard this summer. He does have an appointment coming up in Sioux Falls for his eyes because the blood vessels were still immature last time. Hopefully they have matured by now so we don’t have to worry about ROP.