Baby's Best Friend

Catching Up

So much has happened in the last week that I hardly know where to begin. Aerin turned 5 months old on February 12th (chronological - from her birth date) and 2 months old on February 18th (adjusted - from her due date). She is almost 11 pounds!

We went to see Dr. Al-Mateen for her 2-month-old check-up last Wednesday. He was thrilled with her progress and gave her a clean bill of health. Even more remarkable is that she is developing much closer to her chronological age than her adjusted age. It would be great if she was developing like a normal 2-month-old, but she's much closer to a normal 5-month-old! She tracks objects with her eyes, recognizes her caregiver (me), can hold her head up steadily, can bear weight on her legs, turns toward loud or new sounds, and can push her chest up with her arms when she's on her tummy. I think she's going to be an early crawler - she gets into crawling position and moves her arms and legs, but she just can't put the movements together yet. She'll push off if you put your hand on the soles of her feet. She makes new noises every day and it's so fun to hear. I swear that she said "Ma" last week when she looked at me. She definitely said "bah," which means, "I am going to spit up all over you and the sofa."

We've taken Aerin out on a few more outings and they've all gone well. We took her to the mall for the first time last week. Andrew had to get a haircut and a new shirt and it was a gorgeous day out. Aerin hates being put in her car seat/baby carrier, but she calms down once we get going. I only had to pick her up twice and she settled right down. It really is like being with a movie star. People stop to stare at her, even people with their own babies. Everyone gushed about how beautiful she is, from the salespeople at Hecht's to everyone at the salon to everyone at the Nordstrom MAC counter. Every single stylist at the salon came over to fuss over Aerin. She really liked it there and looked right at everyone who had come to gawk at her. It was really fun to go there with her - I've been going there for years and went there when I was pregnant. The MAC counter was packed - there were about a dozen people shopping and having their makeup done. They all practically swarmed me. I was carrying Aerin because we didn't want to bring the stroller downstairs and I just planned to take a minute. No one could stop gushing over Aerin. I've been going there for years and the MAC artists all know me and they know all about Aerin. They were so happy to see her that they actually stopped what they were doing to get a closer look at her, which no one seemed to mind. I finally had to get us out of there because I was afraid people would start trying to touch Aerin or asking to hold her. Aerin took it all in stride and seemed to enjoy looking at all the people.

Aerin had bloodwork done and it all came back normal. In fact, she no longer needs extra iron! That's one less syringe we have to worry about. She's still on Zantac, Reglan, and multivitamins. We're hoping she'll outgrow the need for Zantac and Reglan, but she's going to need the multivitamins until she's at least one year adjusted.

Aerin is still sleeping through the night and I have to say that I feel a lot better. Aerin can go from zero to sixty in about 10 seconds. It's truly astounding. One second, she'll be asleep or just hanging out, the next second she's screaming. Sometimes she's content to hang out in her swing, sometimes she insists on being held. She's ambivalent about her sling, too. Sometimes she screams the second I put it on, sometimes she'll stay in it for a couple of hours. She's also had a couple of "Momma Moments," where she wouldn't let Andrew hold her and didn't stop crying until I took her. I'm really hoping they were isolated incidences.

Aerin's birth announcements arrived and I am working on getting them out. It'll take a while because Aerin is in one of her "how dare you put me down" kind of moods. In fact, she's calling me right now.

Patience

A huge post is forthcoming, I promise. Things have been busy, but Aerin is doing great.

Valentine's Day

Days 150-151

Well, all streaks come to an end. Aerin didn't go to sleep until 3:30 a.m. last night and that was after I sang myself hoarse. She would do her trick where she starts to cry just as I'm tiptoeing out of her room.

Aerin's feedings are about the same. The changing table is a huge help - Aerin will eat on it even after she's been fussing. I can't for the life of me figure out why. Her reflux is pretty much the same, too. I went through 3 shirts on night - luckily baby spit up doesn't stain. Aerin has one gown that she spits up on every single time she wears it. I'm giving serious thought to retiring it from her wardrobe, but it's just so cute. Aerin's also been going in her swing for longer periods of time, which makes things much easier for me. Andrew and I have even gotten to eat supper at the same time for several days in a row.

8 Weeks Old

Days 147-149

Aerin had a very eventful weekend. She hung out with Grandma Rita while Momma and Daddy went out on a date and then again while Momma did some shopping. Everyone had a very good time and it was fun to see Aerin wrap her grandmother around her little finger. We were sad to say good-bye to Grandma Rita and we hope she won't go so long between visits this time.

I made a minor change to her feeding routine. I switched from rice cereal back to Simply Thick. She seems to be less fussy and is eating more at each feeding. I am using the changing table from the Pack n Play regularly for feedings. I have no idea why she likes it, but I'm not about to argue with what works.

Aerin was thrilled when her beloved Pittsburgh Steelers won her very first Super Bowl. She was a bit disappointed that Troy Polamlu didn't make any big plays and she was upset about the bad call, even though it was in the Steelers' favor. She thought it was pretty neat when Antwaan Randle El (a wide receiver) threw the touchdown pass to MVP Hines Ward. Well, she would have if she had been awake.

On Monday night, Aerin went to a restaurant for the very first time. We went to our local O'Charleys. She screamed the entire ride there, but she fell right asleep when we went inside. They have this very neat contraption that you can strap the baby carrier into and we pulled it right up to the table. It was a very special night for me - for years I'd watch people with their children in restaurants and wonder if that would ever be me and yesterday it finally was.

Day 146

Aerin is enjoying having her Grandma Rita here, even though she is being very fussy. Grandma Rita watched her while Andrew and I went out to lunch. It was our first meal out together in weeks and we had a nice time. Of course we talked about Aerin the entire time.

Her feedings have been fairly difficult this week. I think we're all looking forward to the point when she outgrows the reflux.

Aerin is watching her very first Super Bowl and she's all decked out like a little fan should be.

Day 145

Day 144

I woke up before Aerin for the first time this morning. I looked at my clock and charged into her room, petrified. She was perfectly fine and sleeping soundly. It's the first time she slept for a 6-hour period. She would have slept longer, but I had to wake her up to eat - her reflux gets really bad if she goes too long between feedings. Happily, she had a great feeding. She's eaten well all day today, which is a relief - she had a day of very fussy feedings yesterday.

Aerin is at the point where I'm pretty sure she's over her cold. She still has some congestion and a cough, but that's to be expected for a preemie who's been intubated (both when she was born and during the pneumonia. Her chest is always clear when I listen to it. I'm still relieved when I don't hear any crackles or squeaks, though.

Aerin's Grandma Rita is coming to visit her from New York City tomorrow and we're very excited to see her.

Days 142-143

She did it - Aerin has reached 10 pounds! I remember waiting for her to reach 2 pounds. Obviously the new feeding schedule is working and we're going to stick to it.

Aerin is very alert and really focuses on objects that interest her. Besides Momma and Daddy, she loves looking at herself in the mirror of her swing, at the bears on her Pack n' Play, and the toys on her bassinet. Today I asked her if she was a little redneck baby and she smiled at me.

Day 141

Days 138-140

Aerin had a great weekend. The new feeding schedule is really making things easier for both of us. It's wonderful not to have to spend 90 minutes coaxing her to eat. She's actually eating the same amount, if not more, because we've added 1-2 additional feedings. Even with the extra sessions, we still spend less time on feedings. Aerin seems to have less reflux this way, too. I was worried that she would stop gaining weight or even lose weight, but I shouldn't have - she's up to 9 pounds, 14 ounces! I can't believe her weight is going to be in the double digits soon.

Aerin's adjusted age is 6 weeks today and she's either on track developmentally or ahead. Yesterday I asked her who wants to eat and she smiled at me. Today I asked her if she wanted to eat and she smiled at me. She smiles at Andrew when he makes up silly songs for her. She definitely has dimples, which is amazing because neither of us do.

Day 137

The feeding experiment is going well thus far. Aerin has had wet and dirty diapers and she hasn't lost any weight. It looks like she might even have gained half an ounce - it's hard to tell with our baby scale. I spoke to Dr. Al-Mateen today and we're going to keep this up for the next 4-5 days. We'll have a better idea of how it's working then and we can decide how to proceed.

Days 134-136

Aerin and I have had a rough couple of days, feeding-wise. She's been fussier and slower than usual. Today she took 2 hours to eat 60 cc's, so I called Dr. Al-Mateen. Since her chest is clear and she's still having wet diapers, he doesn't feel that this is a significant problem. We are trying an experiment for the next 24 hours. I will stop Aerin's feedings after she has stopped eating vigorously. Her pattern is that she'll gulp anywhere from 50 to 80 cc's and I'll coax the rest into her 5 cc's at a time over 90 minutes. We're going to try allowing her to stop herself when she wants and see if she still has wet diapers and doesn't lose weight. I'll call Dr. Al-Mateen with the results tomorrow and we'll go from there. So far, so good - she's taken 80 and 95 cc's at her last 2 feedings.

Aerin is sleeping long stretches during the night, which makes things a lot easier for her momma.

Day 133

Aerin had a much better night last night and a great day today. She ate with minimal fussing, although she's still taking her time. She stayed in her swing for a good 90 minutes and was content to stay in her Maya Wrap the rest of the afternoon and evening. I'm hoping this is the beginning of a new trend.

Dr. Al-Mateen isn't going to increase Aerin's meds for at least another month. As she grows out of the reflux, she should need them less and less. I can't imagine having a child on no medications anymore than I can imagine having a child without an apnea monitor, but she can't be on them forever.

By the way, Aerin's favorite Steeler is #43 Troy Polamalu.

Days 130-132

Aerin is doing extremely well, but she has been very demanding these past few days. We've hardly put her down at all and I've gotten very little sleep. She's incredibly adorable, though, and has started smiling at us! She's been eating super slowly, which can be frustrating, but she's gaining weight, which is the important thing.

Aerin was overjoyed today when her beloved Steelers won the AFC Championship and she's really looking forward to seeing them destroy Seattle at the Super Bowl.

Day 129: Free Babysitting!!

But who took the picture, then?

Day 128

Aerin got a (relatively) clean bill of health from Dr. Al-Mateen today. She still has a head cold, but it's getting better and her lungs are clear. She's gained 3 pounds in 4 weeks and her development is either right on track or advanced. She got her polio vaccine and her monthly Synagis. Dr. Al-Mateen was very happy with her progress and told me that in April he's going to give us his "lighten up" talk because we're so cautious with Aerin (caution is good in RSV season).

One of Aerin's NICU neighbors was in the doctor's office today! He was a 36-weeker, but he had had a lot of respiratory problems. It was really nice to see him and his mom outside of the NICU. She couldn't believe how big Aerin has gotten.

Andrew had to work today, so I took Aerin in myself. It went very well - she slept in the car, as usual and the hospital has valet parking. After our appointment, I stopped in the hospital cafe to get a cup of coffee for the ride home. On the way there and back, no less than 4 people came up to me to say how adorable Aerin is. People were actually glancing in her stroller and then doing double takes. I know she's a beauty, but even I was surprised at the response.

Days 124-127

I'm sorry about the long hiatus between posts - Aerin has been extremely demanding lately. She's been wanting to be held all the time and taking her sweet time eating. She got a bath last night and didn't cry until the very end, which was a nice change. She's up to 9 pounds, 3 ounces.

We're seeing Dr. Al-Mateen tomorrow for a routine appointment. It's nice to have scheduled appointments and not emergency visits. Aerin has been home for almost 5 weeks now.