4 months old!

the 6 boys hanging out. They all love to hear the guitar.

Silly boy.

Cousins finally acknowledging each other. This is the first time Sam has shown any interest in LJ.

We finally caught a smile!

So much to see!

Just hanging out on the couch.

The other boys...they look so well behaved :)

Yesterday LJ was 4 months old...where is time going?! He has been home with us for 10 weeks, and time has flown by much faster at home than it did in the hospital! I will admit though, that our almost 2 months at Northside is slowly becoming a more distant memory as time goes by.

When I last updated, we were still on the formula journey. We went to the GI doctor and his poo sample was clean on January 4th...but he was so miserable on the formula that we asked for one last chance to try something new. We changed formula yet again, and sure enough within days, LJ was smiling and happy again! No more screaming through bottles and he even started sleeping at night for 8 hours before getting hungry. We were iffy at first because things that came out of him looked a little funky, but we just kept praying that this would work. I took LJ in this morning for his 4 month appointment and was told that everything was clear! Woohoo! I walked out of that office with a major weight lifted. Between that good news and finding out that he really didn't need shots today because they gave him his 4 month shots at his 3 month appointment (I'm obviously not the only one confused about this real age/adjusted age thing), the day couldn't be better! Now until his 6 month check-up, we have no more doctors appointments scheduled besides his monthly RSV shot (it doesn't really count because we just see the nurse)! They always say that in the NICU, the Dad's are always more focused on the numbers than the Mom's...not so true here! I was thinking in numbers the other day how far we have come.

Ounces per day of food: week 1-under 1. Today-36.
Weight: day 1-3 lbs, 8 oz. Today-13 lbs. 7 oz. (Almost quadruple)
Length: day 1-16.5 inches. Today-23.5
He is in the 25th percentile in weight for term 4 month olds, and in the 63rd percentile for babies his length.
Amount spent breast feeding for 2.5 months-0
Amount spent on formula in 8 weeks-812
Number of doctors appointments since being home-17 that I remember

Now that he is healthy and ready to be a typical 4 month old, I am ready to let the numbers go and enjoy it all! LJ loves to smile now, and he has started laughing...especially when I change his diaper at 3 am. He loves ceiling fans. He likes to swing. He loves looking at himself in the mirror. He doesn't quite lift himself on to his elbows yet from his tummy unless he is really mad. He loves the grocery store. He loves to be read to (or just cuddle), and it is just about time we get him back into his own room! Its the plan as soon as we move.

Speaking of moving...it should be happening within the next few weeks. Our house has not sold but we have decided it will be easier to show with us not in it. We are only going a couple of miles down the road and the house is smaller, but if it allows me to be home with LJ, any size is perfect! While the house is smaller, the property is much bigger, so the dogs will be in heaven...something I have been wanting for a long time! Even better, one of my dearest friends lives across the street...she has a little boy and one on the way! Built in buddies one day! Now to pack...I hate packing and moving...just wish it would all appear there.

On Friday we are very excited that LJ's great grandma and great grandpa are coming to visit from Seattle! LJ is the second great grand baby after my sisters son, Sam. 4 generations of fun :)

March for Babies

During our adventure of the past four months, the March of Dimes has proven to be a valuable resource for us in learning to live with a preemie. There are so many unknowns with a healthy baby, and so many more with a preemie. We were lucky enough to get LJ to 29 weeks, but there are many babies born much earlier who have survived. Now that we seem to have made it through the initial hurdles, Matt and I want to do our part in raising any money we can so that babies who are born prematurely or with birth defects can continue to thrive as LJ has. I know times are tough for many, and I typically hate fundraising, but our son wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the research and technology that allowed our son to be delivered early, and for that, we are excited about doing what we can! We will to participating in the March for Babies on April 28th, and we can't wait to bring LJ along with us! The link below will take you to our team page...we are Team Ten Tiny Toes! There you can donate directly online or volunteer to become part of our team! We would love to have you!
http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1765254

A New Year

LJ after his last eye doctor appointment...he wore himself out! He looks much bigger than he is because he grew out of his first warm outerwear and the next size up gives him a lot of extra space...his arms and legs go about halfway down the opening :)

From beginning to end, there was a roller coaster of emotions for us this year,  and we could have never have predicted the path the year would take.

Many know that in Sepember 2010 we decided to adopt. I have always said that adoption would always be something I was interested in, and I am lucky enough to have a husband to be just as excited about it. We spent countless hours from Sepember 1010-February 2011 taking classes and working on our home study. We were not looking at babies yet, but an older child from within the foster system because those are the ones that really struggle to find families. We were so excited to have just gotten our paperwork completed and approved the end of February when we found out I was pregnant in March. I remember we got the call we had been waiting for the day after we found out I was pregnant...they had a sibling group they thought would fit into our home. It was such a blur of emotion being so excited about being pregnant but having to tell the agency we couldn't do it right now.  One day we will continue that path...for now, God sent us on a new one, and we couldn't feel more blessed.

My pregnancy made much of 2011 a blur. Having had a miscarriage in the past, everything sent me into a panic that something would go wrong, and I spent every day just hoping to get to the next. The weekend of the 4th of July I spent a night in the hospital with complications, and I think that put me even more on edge. The beginning of August brought a new school year and the end of my lazy summer days. The school year didn't last long with my water breaking on September 14th. I hope to spend 2012 enjoying my growing family and all of the things that come with it.

In the meantime, LJ had his LAST 2 week eye doctor appointment yesterday! Since Matt is off this week, he got the pleasure of holding LJ down in the chair this time...I can't say I was too upset about that! He doesn't have to go back for 6 months and they said next time they won't go sticking things in his eye. Some preemies have a wandering eye, and they are just checking to make sure his aren't...I don't think it will be a problem because even now, his eyes don't cross much like they used to. They will check once a year until he is 4 to see if he needs glasses to correct it...again, I'm not too worried about this one.

We continue to struggle with the food. After LJ's last appointment 2 weeks ago, we immediately switched him to the new formula. The x-ray was good, so there is no concern there. However, the new formula is awful. It is really thin and made his reflux flare back up...we doubled the dose of those meds. He screams more than ever when he eats...he is hungry, but just can't seem to get it down, so he is eating less than he used to. He doesn't poop anymore, so the doctor told me to try prune juice...he loves it and makes the cutest faces when he drinks it, but it doesn't work and it seems to give him a tummy ache a little while after. Matt has had to talk me out of marching back into the doctor several times...they say it takes 2 weeks for you to really see the change. No change...it has been 2 weeks today and I cannot wait to get back into the doctor this afternoon! Of course I have been reading non-stop about this whole ordeal, and my latest thing is corn...all the hypoallergenic formulas have a ton of corn syrup (they replace the milk with corn syrup...the one he is on now is 55% corn syrup!), which is also a common allergen in babies...I keep thinking we may have fixed the dairy part to cause a corn problem? His reflux meds also have stockpiles of corn in them. I am making it all up right now, but  I can't wait to talk to the doctor about it today! There is only one hypoallergenic formula that is corn free, so I am hoping that will be the next move. I just hate to see our happy baby unhappy.

LJ is sleeping better most nights...his record so far is 11 hours only getting up once to eat! That's not an ordinary occurance, but we are getting there! He is starting to notice the world around him...he will look at us and you can tell he is actually seeing us. He responds to Bosco barking. He found his hands and he will sit and play with them. He found the sheep in his pack n' play and he touches it. He could sit in his swing or bouncy seat for longer periods and be happy.

We did try to let him sleep in his own room one night. We were all up until 1:30, and we all ended up back in our room. Granted, he had a belly ache that night, so I think that had a lot to do with it. We will try again soon...we know we need to get him in there before too long, but I also want him to get some sleep.