February 29th

Happy leap year day! My friend Kara had her baby boy today :) congratulations the her and her growing family!

Also, Adin met his other great grandmother and some great aunts and uncles today with his nana up in new Hampshire.

Then he came home, ate a ton, and was a poop for most of the evening. However, he is enjoying his feeding with nana and decided it was time to hold the bottle himself! Who is this child and where did my infant go?!

February 27

Today is my follow up with my OB. She called me a few weeks ago to see how I was doing and then didn't call back when she said she would. I thought about calling last week - but figured I could wait.

Tomorrow my mon is flying in to finally meet her grandson and to spend some QT with the Conant family :)

Today is the only day within a 2 week period where Adin and I are spending the day together. My goal = keepin him awake as much as possible so he sleeps well tonight!

February 25

Here are some pictures of Adin today. I'm already experiencing the "he's growing up so quickly" feelings.

February 22nd

Lately Adin has been grabbing his burp cloth if we lay it down on his lounger close to him. So last night I decided it would be interesting to see if he wanted a snuggie. So I grabbed one and put it next to him. He liked it and snugged it until he fell asleep.

He is also sleeping for 2-4 hours. We wake him up at the 4 hour mark per our pediatrician. He is eating 2 ounces per feeding. He is also alert for a good amount of time. He spent 2 hours awake and alert this afternoon! He got to spend some quality time with his daddy while I had lunch with Jess. Then Adin and I took a mid afternoon trip to a coffee shop to meet up with some lady friends from work. It was nice to catch up and share new mommy stories an advice as one of the gals has a 2 month old and another has a 5 year old and an 11 month old.

Tummy time

We are doing tummy time each day. This helps Adin to get a nice strong neck and build the muscles he will need for turning over and crawling. He is already able to life his head and look around but also conquered the whale! He started with his face on it and within minutes he had moved himself forward so the whale was behind him and he was flat on his belly :) he's such an over achiever! Also, when on his back he reaches up and grabs the items hanging down and put a ring in his mouth!!

First bath

Jesse and I took a trip down to his parents' house yesterday for a birthday dinner - february is a birthday month for both Samantha and Susan.

But before we headed down there our little man needed his first bath! We operated quickly and smoothly while trying to take pictures to document the moment. He initially screamed and turned into an angry red ball. Then he calmed down a bit until we took him out to dry him off. We then dressed him as warmly and quickly as possible. He smelled amazing all day yesterday - we used aveeno baby bath products and they are so yummy smelling :)

February 19th

Just a few pictures to share! I'll be posting some soon from Adin's first tummy time where he conquered a whale!

February 16th

The flash made him a grump

The milk I've pumped

The bottle looks larger than life!

Yesterday, Adin and I went grocery shopping with our friend Anna. We went to Trader Joes (which if you've read previous posts you know that I LOVE TJ's). He did great on the car ride and awesome in the grocery store. His car seat couldn't perch on the tiny shopping carts at TJ's so he literally got his own shopping cart which Anna graciously agreed or offered to push...not sure which. Pretty sure she didn't mind :) He got tons of attention as any baby would, but maybe a bit more because he's so little. So many people that commented on his size had their own story about a preemie in their family - and each one was a success (pretty sure no one would tell me a story that didn't end in success given how young he is). We got home just in time to eat and sleep!

Today the visiting nurse came again. Adin weighed in at a whopping 4 lbs 15 oz! He is officially gaining an ounce a day - so tomorrow when we have his weigh in at the ped's office he may be 5 lbs...such a chunker! His umbilical cord fell off one night this week - couldn't tell you which night because they are all a blur. His circumcision is SO close to being healed, there's just one spot that is still a bit red so we don't have to put on a full dressing, however we do still need to put on some vaseline. Now begins the task of pointing his penis down before sealing each diaper. That will be something Jesse and I both need to remember to do!

So I mentioned him being a chunker...he is literally drinking everything I have to offer him and is STILL hungry. I'm having to throw a bottle in at the end just to suffice his appetite...which takes feedings that used to be 25 minutes, that have become 40 minutes, and are now over an hour! I don't know if I can keep up with hour long feedings every 2 hours at night and stay sane...I'll talk to the pediatrician about it tomorrow.

Now I'm going to check out a blog that Anna recommended to me yesterday! Enjoy the below pictures. I don't take too many when he's lounging all day because they'd literally all look the same - on the boppy lounger, swaddled in a blanket, with a hat on.

First Pediatrician appointment

Valentine's Day marks the first holiday for Adin as well as his 2 week anniversary in our lives. We started the day out by opening a Valentine's Day card from his Mimi and Grampy (which we videotaped and sent to them). Then, this afternoon, Adin had his first pediatrician's appointment. 

The secretary heard his name and then exclaimed "Oh! A new baby!" and stood up to look over and peek at him. She then commented on how little he was and asked if he was born early. That was the question of the day by many of the employees at Adin's pediatrician's office. After we filled out all the paperwork we went into the exam room. The nurse took his weight (A WHOPPING 4 lbs 13 ounces!!!) and then stepped out for us to wait for the doctor. Two other nurses came in just to see him and hold him because they had heard how little he was (again questions about whether he was early or not). 

The doctor was very impressed with Adin - even commenting that he was a bit advanced with his head control! That's our little man...already advanced in something! His umbilical cord should be falling off in the next day or so - it'll be nice not to have to fold down the tops of the diapers. Also, his circumcision shouldn't need to be dressed after Thursday which means FIRST BATH TIME!!! (Jesse and I are very excited about that). I will go back with Adin on Friday for another weight check. They are looking for 1 ounce per day of growth. We also have the visiting nurse coming on Thursday for a weight check. 

On our way out a mother was leaving with her daughter and of course commented on how tiny Adin was. She then asked if he was pre-term and told me that her first was also (her first was born at 31 weeks due to preeclampsia). Her daughter was in the NICU for 5 weeks. It's nice to hear comparison stories and be reminded that we were pretty lucky all things considered. It was also nice to hear that her daughter is now the tallest in her class and thriving. The hard part is being part of the "NICU" club and knowing the language that goes with it...but that's enough focus on that side of things for tonight. The things to be grateful for are Adin and my husband (who brought me beautiful flowers tonight and allowed me a nice nap this afternoon...and who also volunteers to change any diaper that he's home for!). 

February 13th

We have been gifted numerous preemie and newborn outfits over the last two weeks...however warm pj's are hard to find. So we decided to just use what we've got. The pictures are a size 0-9 sleep sack that Jay and Beth gave for Christmas. Adin could literally swim in it!

Yesterday the visiting nurse came for the first time. He weighed in at a whopping 4 lbs 11 ounces. One ounce away from his birth weight :) also, almost 2 ounces up from his discharge weight. Tomorrow we have our first pediatricians appointment.

Also, I received a letter in the mail from my OB stating that I had missed an appointment on the 2nd. That was the ultrasound to check if Adin was still in the breech position. I called to explain that I had gone in to preterm labor and the receptionist apologized that the automated letter was sent out. Then my OB called me this evening to check in but I missed the call so she's going to try again on Wednesday. It's so weird to think I was having a fairly flawless pregnancy...until it wasn't. It reminds me of one of the attendings commenting during rounds that Adin was doing so well because my placenta was doing its job, to which I replied "until it wasn't"