So Alex is 15 weeks today. I actually had to open up the calendar and count to make sure I was remembering correctly, as if time is starting to speed up but me - not so much!

He’s been hitting milestones all over the place as of late:

• Rolling over
• Grasping
• Smiling and laughing
• Standing up when I hold his hands
• Great head control
• Toy preference

He even seems to be pre-teething a little - terrifying as my mother told me I had my first tooth at four months - a mere three weeks away for Alex!  He’s also having a little bit of weight gain issues, but we think we’ve identified and fixed that issue. He gained again this week so we’re confident that he’s back on the right track there. It’s so far the most frustrating part of going back to work. I keep getting the question “How long are you going to breastfeed him” as if I should have stopped already. Yes it’s hard. Yes it’s worth it. I’ll do it as long as he needs it.

Last weekend was his first big trip! We went to visit my parents up in Boston as a surprise for my mom’s birthday, and to celebrate the 4th. He did awesome on the ride both ways, even though we learned a few things:

• At least for now, I ride in the back with him. The difference between cranks and happy is the ability to quickly get a toy to him, or his pacifier back to him. Once he’s able to grab and hit the mouth target better it’ll be different.
• Pack double what you think you’ll need. Then pack another 50% more. Trust me.
• Toys were bought. Many, many toys. I think because he wasn’t home so much in the beginning and we were so hands on with him in the hospital meant that he didn’t have as many toys and books as he needed. We’ve since fixed this

Since he’s been home, we used the opportunity given to us by being away from our usual routines here to break a bad habit - letting him nap in the swing. I called it the artificial sleep inducer - it’s awesome, but man. Too easy to let him sleep there and not in his crib. So now all naps are upstairs. To that end, Chris (who usually is the night-night person) has started putting him to sleep in his crib. Evenings now go something like this:

• 8-9ish - Bed in Crib
• 2-4ap - Up for eating, back into the crib
• 6am - up again, and sleeps with us for another hour or two

It’s working for the most part. I do not like having him in another room for the sleeping though. But he doesn’t seem to mind, so I need to suck it up

He’s finally caught up on all of his 2 month shots (we’re delaying, doing about 1/week) and all is well there. His follow up surgery is scheduled for August 12th, so we’re hoping that day comes and goes with little fuss and fanfaire. For now, we’re just enjoy the summer with our darling boy.

Pictures:

July 4th in Boston: http://gallery.turnerhq.com/v/babyturner/july408/

The past few weeks have been really a blur. I’ll try to catch up:

June 2nd we were moved to the big hospital from our local county one, in preparation for his surgery. They were pretty late in getting us there, so we were tired and somewhat frazzled by the time we got there. They only had room for one of us to sleep really - and it wasn’t all that comfortable a place to sleep even for that one. It never really folded out flat, and so for the most part i just extended the leg part, and slept curled up in it. Not the best for my back - my chiropractor will be working overtime once I get back to work!!

Alex’s crib wasn’t anywhere near as nice as his one at the original hospital either. All minor things, really. Alex was in good spirits that night, but then again he didn’t know he was having surgery, just us. The TV in the room even said “Welcome Alex :)” - I meant to take a picture of it too, but I forgot. Overall the room just wasn’t as nice as it was at the other hospital. Granted, the care is paramount, and really the most and only truly important thing. But comfort can’t be taken for granted, and the low ceilings and cramped quarters made for a bit of the crazy for mom and dad. The hospital had some fun things though, including dogs that came to visit to lift spirits. I spent some time with those dogs, that’s for sure. Alex couldn’t, but a raise in mom and dad’s spirits helps him too.

June 3rd was his surgery date, the major one. It was a success, and he came through it beautifully. It was a hard day - we were called down early as they were ready for us, and we spent time getting him prepped in the or prep area. It was so cold, so stark white. I remember those two things the best. Letting them take him back to the OR was probably the hardest moment of my life. They were so good to him, so loving and caring - between them, and my wonderful husband (who has been nothing short of a rock) I felt about as good as I could, all things considered. After that, we went to the waiting area to wait. And wait we did - we left the OR Prep area around noon, and we didn’t hear anything at all until about 2:30 - they came and told us that he was doing great, and that they were still working. Around 4pm we were told they were closing up, and then we got him back to the room around 6. A long day for him, but he came through like the trooper he is.

The rest of the stay was just taking care of him post op, and even though he came home with a cath to help him heal (after two failed attempts at discharge where he couldn’t ‘void’ - all the great words we hear for pee :P) he’s not got it anymore. It came out today as a matter of fact (the balloon popped and out it came!) and he’s peed on his own. Thankfully!

Since he’s come home he’s been his normal happy self. He’s hitting milestones left and right - he’s rolled over (front to back) three times so far, he’s drooling, a chatty cathy, and a generally personality filled guy. His two month appt (way late due to hospital stay) was Monday, and he weighted in at 12lbs 4oz. He’s pretty darn awesome.

Here’s the latest batch of pictures:

Hospital Stay at FFX: http://gallery.turnerhq.com/v/babyturner/ffxjune08/

Father’s Day weekend (excuse my haircut pictures interspursed :P): http://gallery.turnerhq.com/v/babyturner/fathersdaywknd08/

I’ve been updating about it mostly on my journal (www.misty.org - the most recent entries) but Alex has been in and out of the hospital the last few weeks. We knew a UTI was something he could get, but he didn’t mess around when he got it. Two nasty bugs kept him in first a few days, and then the second time we all decided it was best to keep him until his surgery, so they could stop them once and for all. He’s too little to have such things make him so uncomfortable, and the surgery was something they were supposed to do right now anyways, so it just worked out that way.

His time in the first hospital was actually pleasant, as much as such things can be. He went in at around 11lbs 3oz (give or take due to the IV) and was discharged at over 12. He started grabbing things this last week as well - the bottom of his robe, mostly, but other things as well. He also reacts to smiles and laughs and is the biggest flirt I’ve ever seen! He loves his toys now, and he loves his daddy (and mommy too, I suppose :)  - he’s so talky now as well. He’s longer (24 inches!) and his head is growing too. Sometimes it’s very easy to forget that there is anything ‘wrong’ with him at all, but we’re just glad that he’s getting things fixed.

To say the nurses loved him is an understatement. I loved the nurses myself; they were so kind and caring. A small peds unit means lots of attention - something we didn’t realize wasn’t the norm until we came to this hospital. It is much less personal, even if they seem to like Alex almost as much.

Pictures from our stay so far can be found below - we may or may not take more, depending on how pitiful he looks after surgery, there’s no need to remember those so vividly.

http://gallery.turnerhq.com/v/babyturner/hospital052608/

I cannot not believe that my new best friend has been in our lives for two whole months now. He’s a delight and really is full of personality. I always said I couldn’t imagine staying home; now I can’t fathom how I am going to go back to work. It helps a lot that Chris will be home with him an extra 6 weeks after I go back.

Some of his 0-3 clothes are getting too big, including this really great hat that went with an outfit (that still fits him) - I guess my kiddo has a big noggin. Makes sense, when you look at his parents ;P He’s also got quite the temper when he’s hungry, just like dad. I try to read to him every morning, and he loves looking at the pictures in the books. He also loves the little boy in the mirror - he’s one of his newest friends!

He was in the hospital from last Saturday to the Tuesday after - 3 days total. It was a long three days, let me tell you. He had a fever saturday afternoon, so we called the pediatrician who asked us to bring him to the ER based on his history. Loudoun actually has a pediatric ER which is very nice, and it just so happened that his nurse was one of the mom’s in my mom group. It really made me so much more comfortable to have a friendly face there. He ended up needing a spinal tap, which was sort of rough on all of us, but in the end he had a UTI and nothing more nasty, thankfully. 3 days of IV antibiotics and 10 days of a strong oral one will hopefully do the trick.

His surgery should be coming up soon as well - they wanted to do it after he was two months old, and that technically is tomorrow, or was last Thursday if you count 8 weeks as two months, and not the anniversary of his birth date.

A friend of ours came over with his daughter on Friday night, and he got his first international gifts. A really adorable t-shirt from Thailand, as well as a beautifully embroidered outfit. They have good taste! We also took him out for the first time since he came home to the Danforth’s. Fun was had by all.

Daddy read to him this morning. He reads to him a lot I am told, just not his kid books. I think the way daddy reads to him is much more creative and informative. Although Dr. Suess is fun too.

Finally, pictures

May 23rd Upload

Outting to the Danforth’s

Alex is doing fantastic, and is just a delightful little boy. We’re so lucky - he’s a good sleeper, a good eater, and my new best friend.

When he smiles at me it is honestly the brightest moment of my life. When the three of us cuddle, I want to be no where else.

Monday we had an appointment with a physiatrist, who looked over Alex for developmental progress. In his own words he’s doing fantastic - they don’t even know if he’ll have any issues stemming from the spinal issues he has. I’m not sure if I ever went into that - he’s missing 1% of the bottom of his spine/spinal cord. His feet move and respond, he has fantastic muscle tone, and they think it will have no bearing on his future best case. Heck, he’s already standing himself up! It may even be that the functionality that is normally in the last 2-3 segments was pushed up/developed in the last one. He weighed him as well, and he’s 10 and a half pounds!

Wednesday it was back to Inova Fairfax Children’s for a pre-surgical sonogram/x-rays. He didn’t need to be sedated or anything, which was good, and we could be with him the whole time (granted, in the really awesome lead vests). They put him in the tiniest hospital robe I’ve ever seen, and took lots of pictures. The surgeon should let us know next week when we can expect to bring him in. I am trying not to be apprehensive about it - but he’s strong.

He’s been out to eat a few times, hung out with the dog - even helped me raid Kara in WoW He loves his playmat, loves listening to music with daddy, and loves cuddling with mommy. He’s pushing himself up, holding his head steady on his own, and seems to like bathtime now! He smiles ALL the time! And now he’s awake. So before a meltdown happens, here’s links to the latest pictures

Uploaded May 8:
http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/May8th/

Uploaded May 13:
http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=11964

Or a tired one.

We’re doing great - he’s so big! I promise pictures tonight, it’s just been so crazy around here. I’ve been sick for a few days and that really takes one out of commission I’ve found when you’re trying to keep up already!

Until pictures, let’s sum up what’s been going on in the life of Alex:

• Getting Bigger!
• Smiling!
• Cooing!
• Not sleeping at night!
• Sleeping all day!
• Exclusively Breastfeeding (Finally!!) except for his 2pm medicine bottle. Even that’s just an oz, and he gets the rest of his feeding from me. If I could figure out how to give him his meds without this bottle I would
• I estimate him to be about 9lb 6oz by my uneducated guess (put me on the scale, then put him on the scale with me :P)

He likes his carrier thankfully, and I love it too. I’m hoping we get a chance to get out this weekend so we can get even more great pictures of him. We all took a (short) walk the other night too, and it was so nice. He does really well when he’s moving (car, carrier, stroller, etc), so we’re lucky there. He likes his playmat, but he seems to have a low tolerance for it sometimes. He’s great with tummytime, and even though he goes noodle on me a lot his neck is pretty strog.

Now if he’ll stop rolling over on his side in his sleep and moving all the way to the side of the bassinet, I’d sleep better at night.

Alex is four weeks today!! Time really flies
Since we last updated, we’ve done a lot of follow up on NICU stuff, all with positive results. He’s had some visitors, with some of the girls from work coming to visit, as well as a good number of couples we’re friends with stopping by to say hello He’s not on a schedule, especially as I try to get him off the bottle and onto the breast - that’s a challenge in and of itself. It’s going well though, at least as I type about it this morning.
Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) came to visit last Thursday through Monday, and we had a great time. They came with us to his appointment with the surgeon on Friday, and we discussed timing for his second and third surgeries. It looks like his second will be end of May/Early June ish, and his third will be July/Aug timeframe. That can all change of course, but it’s nice to have more solid timelines.

His cries are much more readable by us these days - he’s got this one that sounds like a dinosaur or a baby bird that’s his hungry one, an extremely angry don’t bathe/change me one that I like to call his Mr. Furious cry (also referred to as Constable Angryman), and a pitiful I’m sleepy one that doesn’t have a nickname that I recall. He’s really got quiet a personality.

We even got out of the house, a bonified visit out and not just stopping somewhere on our way from a dr.’s appt. We went to the garden and flower show downtown, and he did great! And by great, I mean he slept the whole time
Today we’re going out for a picnic with some other local moms of similarly aged kids. I’m trying him out in the mai tai for the first time today, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ve practiced putting him in it a few times - it’s thankfully much easier than it looks

Anyways - pictures! He really already looks so different!

http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/PatriotsDayWeekend/

Today’s really my first full day at home alone with the baby, yesterday a bunch of people from work came to visit, so that only sort of counts It was good to introduce him to people, and get to see some familiar faces as well!

Alex is doing great - he seems flipped for days and nights though, but we’ll work on that later. His feeds are awesome, he’s taking at least 2.5oz at each one, and sometimes even a little more than 3! I’m slowly increasing his amount of tummy time too - I’m not joking when I say this kid can lift his head up. Not all the time, but already sometimes. He’s strong! Rawr!

I’ve made all of his follow up doctors appointments, but I’m still working through some insurance things. Not all of his specialists are in network, but luckily he won’t have to go see a lot of them more than a few times, and we can get exceptions for them (a lot of them are the only ones in the area who do what they do). I can not say enough how thankful I am for good insurance.

He had his 2 week check up at his pediatrician the other day - it was a nice change to go to a ‘normal’ doctors appointment. He’s already up 7oz from his birth weight to 8lbs 9oz! He’ll be out of his newborn clothes before we even know it.

Our little man is 3 weeks old today - I need to take more pictures of him at home vs. him at the NICU, but here I can hold him all the time, unlike there. Here’s the most recent ones:
http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/ThreeWeeksOld/

So the last 24 hours have been filled with new experiences for all three of us. Yesterday afternoon is sort of a blur - we were on overdrive, sort of just following his feeding schedule exactly, changing diapers, and doing a lot of staring at him and holding him. Thank goodness the NICU let us do a lot of his care (non-medical anyways ;p) when we would visit. It really has made a difference.

He slept really well last night - got up twice when he was hungry, ate and generally went right back to bed. We know how lucky we are for that The dogs were REALLY fascinated with him in his bassinet - they sort of leaned over the bed trying to cover the space we intentionally put between him and them. They did really well with him.

Today was also bath day, and man - that was harrowing. When he screams and cries it breaks my heart - he really does not like baths. We have nicknamed him Mr. Furious.

He’s currently sleeping in Chris’ arms as they watch the Nascar race, after eating only half his dinner. He’s either FAMISHED or meh when it comes to eat times, but overall he eats enough, which is good.  I sense tonight will be one of much up time.