Smiles!

Jack is 18.5 weeks (6 weeks adjusted age) as of Saturday. He smiles at Jon and me all the time now - a new development over the past week or so. He also smiles at some of his toys - especially the bears on his pack n play mobile. It definitely makes him seem more like a little person! He's mostly a really happy little guy - only crying when he's hungry or has reflux. We seem to have lucked out with avoiding colic, thankfully!

Jack's going 6 to 7 hours between feedings at night...but as of last night he has pushed his last "evening" feeding to 215am. So our schedule's a little off, but at least we're getting some sleep.

He's out of newborn clothes now and wearing the 0-3 month size. I'm glad he's growing so well, but a little sad to put away so many cute outfits.

excited to wear the next size up!

hanging with Charlie on a quilt from when I was a baby (Grandma made it)

Jack loves how soft the blanket is that his grandma (my mom) made him!

Father's Day

4 month shots

Jack had another pediatrician appt today. He weighed in at 10lbs, 8.5 oz, and was 21 1/8 inches long. Both of those numbers aren't even on the growth chart for a 4 month old (not surprising, since he's only 1 month adjusted age!). However, his head circumference (15 3/4 inches) is in the 10th percentile for a 4 month old! He had his 4 month vaccines today - 4 shots in the thighs, and one oral vaccine. He hated it, but recovered pretty quickly with his pacifier. He did seem a little fussier than usual this afternoon though, and I felt badly for him with his bugs bunny bandaids! So we spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch snuggling.

Yesterday Jack had a repeat swallow study (video xray with contrast), to see if we could stop adding thickener to his milk. He did great! He now no longer has to have the thickener or the higher calorie formula fortifier. Down to just milk, daily vitamins, and Zantac every 8 hours. And the oxygen. I went downtown last week and checked out a pulse oximeter from the oxygen company. We turned off Jack's oxygen and hooked him up to the pulse ox so we could monitor how he did on his own. He did well for the first 2 1/2 hours, then started trending downwards, so he'll be staying on the O's for at least another 3- 4 weeks.

The swallow study was performed at the same hospital downtown where Jack spent his first 3 months. We dropped by the NICU to visit with the nurses. It was fun to see people who were so involved in our lives during that time, but a little strange to no longer be a NICU parent.

My mom left town today. She spent 2 1/2 weeks here helping me out and making sure I got some sleep. Thank you so much!! =) We will definitely miss you, but it's time for me to start figuring out a routine on my own. I'll let you know how that goes. =) The good news is that he is going 4-5 hours (and did 6 hours last night!) between night feedings. The bad news is that he only does that if he's being held while he sleeps. Otherwise he seems to startle himself awake much more easily (even if he's swaddled). But it's working for us for now.

3 weeks old (adjusted)

Jack is 3 weeks old today...or 15.5 weeks actual. He had a pediatrician appt today - he's up to 9lbs, 13.5 oz! They were impressed with how much weight he has gained. The doctor is going to talk with the neonatologists that took care of Jack, and will likely decide to stop the formula supplementation soon (he gets extra calories b/c he's preemie). He's also going to set up an appointment with the oxygen supplier, to have someone come out to the house for a few hours to do a room air challenge - take Jack off of the oxygen supplementation and monitor his pulse ox while sleeping, awake, and eating. Hopefully we'll be done with the oxygen soon! That will make him much more portable around the house. =)

Jack had his first experiences shopping this week - Monday we took him to Babies R Us to buy a gift (and found an awesome deal on organic baby food - getting started on that stockpile early), and to a quilting store. He did great both places. Yesterday we took him to the bookstore, a toy store, and a knitting store. We kept him in the carseat in the stroller, and he seemed to enjoy the change of scenery.

He's working on mini push-ups during his "tummy time", and seems to really like his wind-up musical toys (he often smiles for them - we're not sure if this is just coincidental). He would prefer to be held the majority of the time though, so I've learned how to sleep in our recliner chair with him laying on my chest. He's moved out of the newborn diapers, into size ones, and a few of his newborn outfits are even starting to feel a bit tight! He's definitely come a long way from being too tiny for the preemie clothes. =)