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| on my way to OT |
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| Hi! |
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| just being cute |
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| his latest pose |
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| happy little boy! |
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| so sleepy |
Monday, February 28, 2011
4th month of RSV Season down!
Yay! Another month down :-) I love February and it only being 28 days! Warren also had his 9 month well baby visit today. He is now 13 lbs, 26 inches and his head is 17 3/4 inches. Since his 6 month well baby he has gained about 2.5 lbs, grew 3 inches and his head grew 1.5 inches. His pediatrician was happy with his progress and we don't need to go back until he is one year. This month Warren has been receiving Occupational Therapy and now only needs it one time per week. He is also moving onto Stage 2 foods and overall is doing pretty well with solids. The biggest change this month is that he is eating AWAKE!!!! Yay!! It has been so nice. He sleeps through the night and eats awake and then takes naps such a huge difference. No more sleep feeding! He definitely "Talks" up a storm now. He is saying baba, just started with some dada no mommy yet. He is also starting to roll over a little more and can sit really well supported, not independently yet but we'll get there. That's it for now!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Yep that seems to be Warren's favorite song during feeds. Yes you read right...during feeds. He is eating while AWAKE!!! YAY! He started eating awake on February 10 and I decided to try with every feed. Two days later he was eating every feed awake. Now we are getting about 5-6 hours of straight sleep a night which has been amazing. I have to sing the entire time I feed him to keep him distracted but that's okay, it makes it enjoyable for both of us. His favorite song so far is, "Itsy Bitsy Spider" with the runner up being, "The Wheels on the Bus." Sometimes towards the end of some feeds I do have to turn the TV on but that is only occasionally. He is also eating anywhere from 135-150 cc's per feed (3.5-5 ounces)
:-) We are still working on solids and are about to move him up to stage 2 foods. I am hoping that we have his reflux better controlled. Fingers crossed that his feeds continue to improve!
:-) We are still working on solids and are about to move him up to stage 2 foods. I am hoping that we have his reflux better controlled. Fingers crossed that his feeds continue to improve!
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| practicing sitting like a big boy |
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| taking my first nap in my bed |
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| It's time for bed but I would rather be awake with mommy and daddy |
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
3rd Month of RSV season down!
3 months down! Hopefully only 3 months or less more to go! Once it gets warm out my plan will be to take Warren outside for walks. We still wont be able to go to the mall but going outside will be good for me and him.
Let's see what has happened this month. This whole month has been spent on trying to figure out his feeding issues. In the beginning of January we did a 2 week trial with a hypo allergenic formula, called Neocate. After the 2 weeks were up we didn't notice any huge changes so the GI decided to put him back on breast milk. At first he did awesome. All of his feeds were getting easier, he was eating 4 1/2 ounces in under 20 minutes. Than after about 5 days his feeds were becoming difficult again. The GI thinks the reason why he had such a surge in extra milk intake that his stomach was starting to feel better. So we are putting him on neocate and I am weaning from the pump!
Warren also started getting occupational therapy. He is doing great with that. We are working on solids and his OT's goal is to get him up to mashed table foods.
He is now 8.5 months old actual/6 months adjusted. He goes up to his hands during tummy time. He eats all of his toys and can transfer the toy back and forth between both of his hands. He rolls over from belly to back every so often and is trying to roll over from back to belly. He is enjoying feeding himself. He LOVES arrow root cookies, slowly starting to enjoy banana flavored puffs. He also enjoys, apples, squash, sweet potatoes, cereal and carrots. He also loves bath time, singing itsy bitsy spider and taking his socks off and eating them :-) It is so much fun watching him grow!
Let's see what has happened this month. This whole month has been spent on trying to figure out his feeding issues. In the beginning of January we did a 2 week trial with a hypo allergenic formula, called Neocate. After the 2 weeks were up we didn't notice any huge changes so the GI decided to put him back on breast milk. At first he did awesome. All of his feeds were getting easier, he was eating 4 1/2 ounces in under 20 minutes. Than after about 5 days his feeds were becoming difficult again. The GI thinks the reason why he had such a surge in extra milk intake that his stomach was starting to feel better. So we are putting him on neocate and I am weaning from the pump!
Warren also started getting occupational therapy. He is doing great with that. We are working on solids and his OT's goal is to get him up to mashed table foods.
He is now 8.5 months old actual/6 months adjusted. He goes up to his hands during tummy time. He eats all of his toys and can transfer the toy back and forth between both of his hands. He rolls over from belly to back every so often and is trying to roll over from back to belly. He is enjoying feeding himself. He LOVES arrow root cookies, slowly starting to enjoy banana flavored puffs. He also enjoys, apples, squash, sweet potatoes, cereal and carrots. He also loves bath time, singing itsy bitsy spider and taking his socks off and eating them :-) It is so much fun watching him grow!
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| Having fun in the bath! |
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| #1 with the ladies :-) |
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| I love eating my hands |
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| my feet are also a lot of fun |
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| Just hanging out |
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| The swing always makes me sleepy |
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| I love Arrow root cookies |
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| yummy yummy! |
Thursday, February 3, 2011
My pumping journey
After 8.5 months my pumping journey is coming to an end. For the past 8.5 months I have pumped, every 3-4 hours, 15-20 minutes each time. 259 days, 518 hours or 31,080 minutes or 22 solid days of pumping.
When I was pregnant I knew that I wanted to breastfeed, there are many benefits from it. Warren was born at 29 weeks he wasn't able to breast or bottle feed at first. Babies learn to suck, swallow, breath between 32-34 weeks gestation, 3-5 weeks after Warren was born. So I decided as soon as he was born that pumping was going to be my only option. It started a few hours after he was born, the nurse brought in a pump for me. She literally wheeled it in and was like, "Here you go!" I had no idea what to do, I made myself bleed at first because I had the setting way too high. I also was only doing one side at a time so 30 minutes of just pumping. I then asked for some help and was quickly getting the hang of it.
At first it was frustrating, I was pumping every 3 hours on the dot around the clock and nothing was coming out. It took about 3 days for my milk to come. I will never forget the morning I woke up and my milk came, I felt like there was a mac truck on my chest, but on the plus side finally milk for my baby! I then would pump and either bring it to the NICU or freeze it at home. He was only eating a few cc's at a time, equivalent to a teaspoon and I was making a few ounces every pump needless to say I had a lot extra so our freezer was getting full! Looking back I wish I would have taken a picture to show how much milk I had. For the first few weeks of his life Warren was fed through a NG tube, at first it was in his mouth but he pulled it out all the time so they had to put it down his nose. He started eating expressed breast milk from a bottle around 4 weeks old. And prior to that expressed milk in his NG tube.
Why am I stopping? Well after some different trial and errors we have decided that he has a protein intolerance (just based on observations) and his GI feels that Neocate, a hypo allergenic formula will be best for him. He told me that Warren received all of the benefits of breast milk since he was on it for 8.5 months. I feel weird stopping but at this point it's time. Overall I am very happy about it but at the same time I feel a little guilty, but it's doctors orders to stop so I must listen. I should also mention that on average Warren is eating about 650 cc's each day one day he ate 780 cc's, that is 21-26 ounces. It's still crazy to think that when he came home he was eating 45 cc's (1.5 ounces) every 3 hours and now he is eating 135 cc's (4.5 ounces) every 4 hours. Fingers crossed that the formula continues to work and he continues to grow.
When I was pregnant I knew that I wanted to breastfeed, there are many benefits from it. Warren was born at 29 weeks he wasn't able to breast or bottle feed at first. Babies learn to suck, swallow, breath between 32-34 weeks gestation, 3-5 weeks after Warren was born. So I decided as soon as he was born that pumping was going to be my only option. It started a few hours after he was born, the nurse brought in a pump for me. She literally wheeled it in and was like, "Here you go!" I had no idea what to do, I made myself bleed at first because I had the setting way too high. I also was only doing one side at a time so 30 minutes of just pumping. I then asked for some help and was quickly getting the hang of it.
At first it was frustrating, I was pumping every 3 hours on the dot around the clock and nothing was coming out. It took about 3 days for my milk to come. I will never forget the morning I woke up and my milk came, I felt like there was a mac truck on my chest, but on the plus side finally milk for my baby! I then would pump and either bring it to the NICU or freeze it at home. He was only eating a few cc's at a time, equivalent to a teaspoon and I was making a few ounces every pump needless to say I had a lot extra so our freezer was getting full! Looking back I wish I would have taken a picture to show how much milk I had. For the first few weeks of his life Warren was fed through a NG tube, at first it was in his mouth but he pulled it out all the time so they had to put it down his nose. He started eating expressed breast milk from a bottle around 4 weeks old. And prior to that expressed milk in his NG tube.
Why am I stopping? Well after some different trial and errors we have decided that he has a protein intolerance (just based on observations) and his GI feels that Neocate, a hypo allergenic formula will be best for him. He told me that Warren received all of the benefits of breast milk since he was on it for 8.5 months. I feel weird stopping but at this point it's time. Overall I am very happy about it but at the same time I feel a little guilty, but it's doctors orders to stop so I must listen. I should also mention that on average Warren is eating about 650 cc's each day one day he ate 780 cc's, that is 21-26 ounces. It's still crazy to think that when he came home he was eating 45 cc's (1.5 ounces) every 3 hours and now he is eating 135 cc's (4.5 ounces) every 4 hours. Fingers crossed that the formula continues to work and he continues to grow.
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| The Infamous pump |
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
It's Official!
Today we went for a 2nd follow up appointment with the GI and we have a plan. We are going to switch Warren to Neocate, a hypoallergenic formula. In the beginning of January we did a 2 week trial of feeding him only Neocate. After the 2 week trial I wasn't sure if I noticed any huge changes with Warren so we decided to switch him back to breast milk. The first few days were awesome, he was eating the most that he has ever eaten. Then it has gotten progressively worse and worse. We also tried Neocate and breast milk and his amounts are still decreasing. The GI wants us to do 100% Neocate. We are thinking that his belly was starting to feel better but then we put him back on breast milk which made his belly upset again. Warren was on breast milk for 8.5 months/ 6 months adjusted which I am very happy about.
Here are some new weights and measurements from today's appointment. Every scale is a little different but thankfully the GI showed me his growth curves based on his measurements. Overall his GI is very happy. His head circumference and length jumped up since last time which is good. His weight is still maintaining his previous curve. He weighed 12 lbs 4 ounces up from 11 lbs 2 ounces, length is 24 3/4 inches up from 22 3/4 inches and his head is 17 3/4 inches up from 16 1/2 inches. All in all good growth since his last measurements were taken on December 13.
He also had an upper GI yesterday February 1st and anatomically everything looks great.
Another awesome feature of Neocate is that it is delivered to our house monthly. Thankfully we have great insurance..the formula costs $1200 per month, which is for 15 cans. Eventually he will be eating more than that.
Here are some new weights and measurements from today's appointment. Every scale is a little different but thankfully the GI showed me his growth curves based on his measurements. Overall his GI is very happy. His head circumference and length jumped up since last time which is good. His weight is still maintaining his previous curve. He weighed 12 lbs 4 ounces up from 11 lbs 2 ounces, length is 24 3/4 inches up from 22 3/4 inches and his head is 17 3/4 inches up from 16 1/2 inches. All in all good growth since his last measurements were taken on December 13.
He also had an upper GI yesterday February 1st and anatomically everything looks great.
Another awesome feature of Neocate is that it is delivered to our house monthly. Thankfully we have great insurance..the formula costs $1200 per month, which is for 15 cans. Eventually he will be eating more than that.
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