5 lbs!!!!

He's 5lbs now! Went to Pedi yesterday and was 4lbs 14oz and today at the lactation consultant he's 5LBS! I cannot believe it. I never thought he'd get to 4, and never thought he'd get to 5, but he's HERE! Cannot believe it. At this rate, on his due date of April 6, he will weigh more than I did when I was born (5lbs 3oz). Wow, huh?

So Pedi yesterday - said his gas and spitting up is normal. Weight off of my mind, let me tell you. I was so worried that he had reflux or something. But, the pedi Dr. W said that it's normal - since he's getting the equivalent of a buffet every 2 hours, he's bound to spit up a little. He's doing better when myelicon, though. He gets that with every feeding and the pedi approves. She says that he's doing really well and we'll go back in 2 weeks for his 2 month checkup.

Today we went to the lactation consultant and that went really well. She weighed him naked and hungry before we started and he was EXACTLY 5lbs, as in 5lbs 0.00000oz. Wow, huh? I am so proud of him. He's my little eater! So then breastfeeding went really well. Lactation consultant said that since he is still being supplemented, he can just do like two really good nursings a day and then supplement the rest of the time. She was really sweet, saying that she understood how hard it must be for me to have to breastfeed AND supplement all the time, etc. Luckily, pedi said that we can stop supplementing soon, hopefully after the 2 month appointment she'll release me from that duty. Then he can get it straight from the tap!

So, obviously, things are going really well. AND, Baker will be home on Friday! SOOO soon! Things are looking up for us!

Next up: Early Childhood Intervention (ECI, Brighton is the company) will come tomorrow. We'll see how that goes! Hopefully, he's meeting his milestones so far. I think he is, but it will be nice to get an outside opinion. More later!

4lbs 9.5oz!

Yep, that's what he weighs as of yesterday! Home health came over, which took FOREVER but that's another story... anyway, I am so proud of my little man for gaining so much! Though I have to say, I am totally not surprised - he eats like he's never eaten before. Actually, it's funny, he eats less during the day and more at night. I need to work on changing that, but for now, I just want him to gain weight so he can have what he wants when he wants it. He usually eats about 1.5oz every 2 hours or so during the day and a LOT more on demand at night. Sometimes, it's 2oz, sometimes it's 3 or so. Wow, huh? My little man is seriously eating me out of house and home. The good news is that my milk production seems to be going up with him - I'm up to about 20oz a day or so. YAY! I thought that would never happen.

So Mommy is tired but it is going well. The in laws are SO helpful, always feeding me and letting me sleep. They like him a little TOO much sometimes though haha. Just kidding. It really is a lot of help to have them. I am going to miss them when I head back to Ohio.

Speaking of... Baker has secured an anesthesia rotation here in San Antonio! So he'll be here on Friday for 2 weeks! AND, if all goes well, the plan is for us to leave when he leaves!

Trig is HOME!

Oh man - I am going to have to keep this short because I am BUSY with a capitol B but Trig came home on Friday and it's been wonderful :) Baker made it home on Thursday and we "roomed in" overnight with Trig on Thursday night. Then, after a long day of discharge stuff (hearing test, circumcision, lots of paperwork) Trig came home! It's been great, I love having him here :) But, I really am so busy! I breastfeed him AND I have to pump and it takes a lot of time. Plus, I am exhausted, but somehow, not as tired as I was going back and forth to the NICU. It's just more enjoyable. Everyone around here loves having him and helps me out but I am so worried about the day that ends!

We went to our first doctor's appointment today and Trig weighs 4lbs 5oz! He's doing great. Poops and toots a lot, so lots of diapers. He gets more and more alert every day which is fun. We're doing better and better at breastfeeding, but he's still not emptying me efficiently and I have to supplement. I am hoping that will improve with time.

Okay, going to finish pumping and go hang out with my little man! Will post pics later :)

Coming home!

So, the time has finally come - I am rooming in with Trig tonight (and Baker will be coming tonight, too, YAY!) and Trig is coming home tomorrow. I cannot believe it. I feel like I am in shock. I am beyond excited, scared, all of those things. I feel like tomorrow is another birthday for him! Like, that he was born recently and gets to come home like a normal baby. He's going to have 3 birthdays - his real one, his homecoming, and his due date, haha! Spoiled little boy already! So I'm pumping right now and then I'll head up to the hospital - lots going on. Hopefully, his car seat test went okay last night, so I won't have to run out and get a new carseat.... Cindy and I have infant CPR at 1pm today, then I'll room in with him! I packed probably way too much but I'm not sure what I'll use and won't use. I'm so nervous, excited, all kinds of emotions rolled into one! Full report when we get home and settled! Wish us all luck!

Oh and last night Trig weighed 4lbs 0.4oz. YAY!

3lbs 12oz! And 1 month old!

3lbs 12oz last night, 1690 grams! YAY Trig! Going to see him here in just a little bit but wanted to add - he's 1 month old today! Happy Month Birthday, Trig!

I owe a post!

Yeah, it's been a long time, so sorry!!!

So let's see - Trig has made a lot of progress since I last wrote! So they moved little Trig to the front room! At first I thought I'd be upset about this because I really liked our little corner at the back, but now I have a little corner at the front with a window! Plus, he's WAY closer to the door, which means closer to going home, YAY! He completely skipped the middle part of the NICU which I am glad about because that part of the NICU has a lot of traffic. Though I have to say that it has been really quiet in there lately - I mean, it's not like this right now but one day I counted something like 10 babies TOTAL. It was nice, though, less monitors means it's less noisy in there. But then we had a baby move in between Trig and Max and it's a little more crowded. I wish they wouldn't do that, it's not even technically a bed space!

So let's talk about the milestones - Trig now has his NG tube out and last night was his last night of Reglan for his digestion. He's wearing clothes in his isolette now because they have it turned down to basically the temperature of the rest of the NICU! They're weaning him off of the temperature control so he can come out of it. It was so fun to put him in his first outfit last night - he was SWIMMING in his preemie outfit! I mean, you look at him and you look at the clothes and you think MAYBE it will fit but then you see how small he really is. So basically, his intervention is really going down to basically nothing. He eats 45mL of breastmilk by bottle when I'm not there and nurses when I am there for his feedings (6, 9, 12, 3 feedings). I talked to Dr. W on Wednesday and she said "maybe about a week" (!!!!) I am so excited and frantically trying to get things done. So, I expect to see him out of the isolette at any time now and we'll just continue to move forward with that. I just REALLY hope that Trig can come home when Baker is here next weekend - that would just be BEYOND perfect to have Daddy there for that.

Okay, going to get ready to go to the NICU, will update more often, I promise!

Pictures - Trig in his first time wearing Preemie outfit from mommy & daddy, smiling under the blanket, Trig's first bath, and hanging out with mommy!

Oh and he weighs 3lbs10oz as of last night! 1650 grams! Way to go my chunky monkey!

3lbs 3oz!

My little man is doing wonderfully. I couldn't be happier! Last night when I was at the NICU he was weighed at 1450grams, 3lbs 3oz. YAY! He really did gain a full 30 grams in a day! Right now, he's doing an oz a day, and I hope he keeps it up! And yes, we weighed him AFTER I changed his poopy diaper!

Other things - they're letting me ACTUALLY breastfeed him now. He was having some trouble with it - he was latching on but then pulling away frustrated. The lactation consultant came by to see me and gave me a nipple shield - WHOA did that make a difference. Trig is breastfeeding like a champ now, I couldn't be more proud. It's like he was saying, THIS is what I needed! Haha. Now I REALLY need to read that breastfeeding book!

I'm usually there 3 times a day - I get up and go for his 9am feeding to breastfeed him, and I kangaroo care him when he's done. Then I pump and go home for a bit to eat and take care of some things, and MAYBE a nap. Just maybe. Not likely haha. Then I go back for his 3pm feeding - I don't get to breastfeed him at that one but I hold him while he gets his feeding in his NG tube. Then I pump and go home again for dinner, and I come back at 8pm after the shift change. Cindy and Ronnie usually come with me then, too, and they see him between 8 and 9 and then I feed him at 9. When he falls asleep after his feeding, I hold him until I need to pump, then I pump, go home, and go to bed. So my life consists of pumping and being with my baby Trig. :)

My time with him is incredible. It really is. He's just beautiful and I cannot believe that he's mine! I just can't believe it! I can't believe that I could be so lucky!

Yesterday was an eventful day - in the morning, I fed him and like I said, he learned to feed like a champ with the nipple shield. Then, when he was done, he yanked out his NG tube while I was holding him! He got hold of the tube and pulled, and the tape holding it in place wasn't sticky anymore, so it slid right out! Then they had to put it back in, and my poor little baby didn't like that so much :(. He also had an eye exam, which I wasn't there for (which I hear is good because they don't really like those exams) and it was NORMAL! I thought it would be because I get the sense that he sees a lot - he follows me with his eyes and certainly squints at bright light. Still, it's good to hear that things are normal and that things are looking good inside of his eyes as well.

Daddy is coming this weekend, too! I am so excited. And, he'll be here for a longer time - getting in at noon or so on Friday and not leaving until Monday morning. I am soooo happy. I absolutely cannot wait until we're together all the time again. This living apart thing sucks. I thought it was awful when I was pregnant, but it's even worse now that Trig is here.

Okay, gotta finish pumping and get to see my little man!