Okay, on Monday he was actually 5 lbs, 15.8 ozs....otherwise called 6 POUNDS!!! YEAH! SO exciting! He's doing great.
My mom made it in just fine...now we are just visiting. I'll update again on Monday after our next weight check...if the weight keep spacking on he can stop his caffiene, which in turn means he can come off the apnea monitor too! Then he'll be just a plain and simple NORMAL newborn baby!!
Kaitlyn feeding Tommy for the first time! 3-13-07 11 weeks, 1 day old
Robby feeding Tommy fo rthe first time. 3-17-07 11 weeks, 5 days old
Robby in The Toughest Cowboy play at school. 3-13-07
Robby after the play not wanting to be photographed...he just wanted to drink Dad's soda. He was tired!
Okay, I wanted to give some updates and add a couple priceless pictures.
First, we can no longer say Tommy isn't born yet?!? See when he was first born he was 11 weeks 2 days EARLY and we had to treat him and remind each other that he wasn't supposed to be born yet. So the joke was "don't forget, he's not born yet!" I took him to Walmart for pictures on Wednesday since it was his due date! Wednesday was also a special day as it was Tommy's 4 weeks home mark! I'm afraid the pictures will turn out half cheesey, but for $5 and not having to drive far they'll do. We splurged and spent a few pretty pennies on some specialty professional pictures a few weeks ago, I just wanted a quick shot of him on his due date. At any rate, when you wonder what he's like here at home, try to recall how your 4 day old baby was at home! He sleeps all the time! He has some fussiness in the evening, some nights worse than others. Last night he was great!
One of the stinky things (now that the NICU scene is over) for me as a mom since I keep good records of the kids (babies) is when they do their firsts and stuff...I have no clue when Tommy will do his first smile, roll over, sit up and such. The other three did everything very close together age wise. Tommy probably will too if we use his adjusted age. BUT DARN IT, I want to see him SMILE NOW! I guess I have another month or so for a true authentic (non-gassy or dreamy) SMILE! I will say the boy has an adorable dreamy smile now.
Tommy is doing fabulous. He's up to 80cc bottles. About three or four nights ago we decided since he was 5 1/2 pounds he should be able to go for longer stretches at night. He had no problem with this. He has taken his 9:30pm bottle and then he will normally fuss a bit (if it's a fussy night) and go to bed. He wakes consistently on his own around 2:15am! So, he goes about 5 hours in between bottles at night. He makes up for it too, he drinks about 10-15 more cc's at that feeding! Compared to 3 hours, this is a fabulous break for us. He then goes another 4 hours to 6:30am a normal feeding time to start our day on schedule. For those who know me, nothing has changed...we have a hard-core schedule to follow here!
Tommy went to Oklahoma City to the eye doctor on Friday...GOD IS GOOD...he does not need to be seen again until he is 3 years old!!! He shows NO SIGNS of ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity)... Dr. Scott said congratulations, what a great feeling. It is such great news to know all is well. That was the only thing left from him being a preemie to be followed up on. Now we only need to make sure he's gaining...we had to do this with Robby too, no big deal!
Tommy goes for his weekly weight check tomorrow morning. I suspect he's right at or just over 6lbs! Since he's been eating more at each feeding, we've done the HMF every other bottle. He feels so heavy now...I don't know how we handled Kaitlyn at 9lbs 7ozs and Kimberlyn at 8lbs 7 ozs at birth. I will say, they look absolutely HUGE when I look at their baby pictures.
Tomorrow after his weight check we are headed to Lawton for the kids' dentist appointment. Great way to start Spring Break, right? Then we'll head to Oklahoma City to visit Glenda. Kaitlyn has been missing her so much, it'll be great to see her. We'll stay the night, Tommy's first overnight trip!! We'll then pick my mom up at the airport on Tuesday. Sometime in the middle, maybe we'll get some shopping done. The big kids are needing some new pants. They have about two nice pair now and will need some when we move to Germany in May, as Germany's May weather is a bit colder than what we are used to. Shoot, the hottest month is July, I believe I read the average high in July is 84 degrees! I'm afraid we're in for some serious weather shock?!?!
I'll update Tommy's weight on Tuesday night or Wednesday!
Well...big news! Tommy gained 8ozs in 7 days! The HMF supplement really must have helped...that and he has been taking more milk at each feeding this past week. 5lbs 9ozs
Tommy is doing very well. Loving all the attention his siblings provide, most of the time anyhow. The kids really adore him...see the pictures!
10wks 6days 3-11-07 (last night)
10wks 2days 3-7-07
3-3-07 9 1/2weeks old. Hanging out in brother's bed.
Kimberlyn loving on Tommy. 3-7-07 10 weeks 2 days old.
Close up shot of Tommy being held by Kimberlyn. 3-7-07 10wks, 2days
Well, no pictures right now...I'm exhausted. Tommy has proved he's a real newborn now as he's decided 8pm on (last night it was until 1:30am) is not so "happy hour!" You know that normal evening fussy time all babies have while trying to unwind from the day??
We went for a weight check today and to get shots...he weighs 5 lbs 1 oz today. The one is not a shot, but an oral drop to protect him from the rotovirus...NASTY virus. Please say a prayer that Tommy doesn't have a reaction from this one. Rotovirus is serious and scary. Kaitlyn had it as a toddler. The child vomits and gets severely dehydrated.
Due to him not gaining enough, we're adding HMF (human milk fortifier) to add calories to my breastmilk. He was on this in the NICU. We asked about mylicon drops for Tommy's happy hour as it may be due to gas...we'll see if it helps tonight.
We go back on Monday for another weight check...
I'll try to get some more pictures in the next day or so.
...AND DOING GREAT! We just pray he continues to handle being off the oxygen! Here are some pictures of him where you can SEE his face!
Well, yesterday was two weeks home for Tommy...and we're all still surving, best yet Tommy is thriving!
On the 24th, a friend dropped off this HUGE Moses basket, filled (overfilled) with all kinds of goodies from our Sunday School class and the Women's Ministry at our church. There are some books for mom and dad, a book and stuffed dog for Tommy, another baby toy, some PJ's, some onesies, diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, two hand made blankets, spit up rags, pacifiers and I'm sure I've forgotten something...but you get the idea! We even got warm cookies with the basket. This was a fun surprise Saturday evening. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends to have put so much effort into the fabulous gift.
I wasn't kidding...it was stuffed!!
Tommy 2 months old, trying out his Moses basket.
Feb 25th, Tommy 2 months old today!! Laying next to Clarence the cute stuffed dog that came in the moses basket
Smokey, our cat trying out snuggling with Clarence :)
On the 26th, Tommy saw the pediatric opthamalogist in Oklahoma City. The doctor wants to see him back in a month. Tommy's eyes look immature, which as the doc explained to us is NORMAL because he is a preemie. I was told, read or somehow learned that even a fullterm baby's eyes don't finish developing until 2-4wks of age! Tommy is still minus 2 wks old! He's due in just 2 weeks!
On the 27th, Tommy went for a quick visit with the pediatrician. He weighs 4lbs, 14ozs! Almost 5lbs!! All is well. We now have a pulsoximeter to measure his blood oxygen saturation levels to wean him off of his 1/16 liter of oxygen. Hip, hip hooray!
Tommy enjoying his bath last night. 9 1/2wks old!
On the 28th (yesterday) we switched him from 1/32 to 1/64...and this morning I turned it off completely. It's been 2 hrs and he's still doing well!
Tommy perfectly stuffed after taking his bottle. 8 weeks old. 2-19-07
Go team...okay, really this is a very normal preemie reflex. Most of the time his hand is wide open. 8 weeks old. 2-19-07
Sorry for the delay in posting new news and pictures. Wow, we're a bit exhausted in the Nance household.
Tommy is great, sleeping well and only fussy about once a day. This fussy time is easily fixed with mom or dad holding him. I was telling a friend that Tommy sleeps all the time. He sleeps more than term babies do at first. But then again, the poor guy isn't supposed to be born yet!
Mom and Dad are doing well, just tired. Feeding Tommy every three hours and me pumping every 3 or so hours gets tiring and leaves no time left do get much of anything done.
Robby, Kaitlyn and Kimberlyn...they are loving their baby brother. Kimberlyn refuses to call him anything but Thomas. She is quick to correct anyone who calls him Tommy. Kaitlyn is in heaven with what she calls "her baby", Tommy really likes all the attention she gives him. Robby is very proud to have his brother home.
Kaitlyn with her live baby doll. Tommy 8 weeks old. 2-19-07
Robby trying to comfort Tommy. 2-20-07
Tommy survived...ONE WEEK HOME!!! 2-21-07
Friday, Feb 23rd
I took Tommy in to get a weight check...just to make sure he really was gaining weight...4lbs, 12ozs! So, in a week he gained 5ozs...good by us!!
"What next Mom??" Tommy in Kimberlyn's princess doll swing that Aunt Jess sent for her 3rd birthday last July! 2-23-07
