Pulminologist Appointment and Hershey

Brandon had a pulminologist appointment this afternoon. He had an RSV shot which as usual he screamed for and let the scream carry on so that he turned bright red. Next month is his last RSV shot until next RSV season if he qualifies so at least he is almost done with being tortured. He weighed 14 pounds, 11 ounces. Dr. Sembrano said Brandon looked and sounded great. The big news is he took him off of the apnea monitor so he is not hooked up to anything anymore. I also talked to Dr. Sembrano about the end of RSV season again and confirmed that I will be able to take Brandon out in public. He said I will be able to but did say that anybody who is going to hold him after RSV season needs to be healthy for 5 days and needs to wash their hands before holding him.

After his appointment we went to the NICU to visit. Several nurses that had Brandon on occassion were working as well as Chris who was Brandon's primary nurse. When Brandon heard Chris' voice he kept staring at her like he knew the voice from somewhere.

Hershey did not seem himself all day and I noticed this afternoon that he was limping. When Stu came home from work I told him and he noticed right away. We called the vet and they were able to get us in. It turns out he has lymes disease. We are not sure how serious his is yet. They are running other tests to see how far advanced it is, if it is into his kidneys. For now they sent him home with an antibiotic that he needs to take twice a day. We are really hoping this does the trick.

Scary Evening and Sweet Potatoes

Last night at 6:00 Stu and I went to give Brandon his axid. He likes it slightly better than the zantac he had been on but still does not like it. His new trick is to put his lips together and pull them back so that you can't get the syringe with medicine in his mouth. In order to give him the medicine Stu has to rub Brandon's head to distract him and I have to squirt the medicine inside his cheek. We were doing that and he was taking it. I put the last amount in and he swallowed it and started to choke on it. I picked him up from his bouncy seat (we put him in it to give him his medicine) and started to hit his back and it wasn't working. He was turning blue and wasn't responding. Stu took over and started to do the heimlich maneuver while I called 911. By the time someone answered 911 Brandon was not choking anymore and was breathing normally again. We still had first aid come and check him out and he was fine. I called his pediatrician to let them know what happened and the doctor was not concerned since he was breathing normally. He said it probably went down the wrong way but told me to start putting the medicine in a bottle with formula. We had been doing that with the zantac but then he was starting to refuse to drink his bottle because he still tasted the medicine which is why we had started to put it in his mouth with the syringe.

Brandon tried sweet potatoes today and really liked them a lot. He was opening his mouth for more each time. It is the first time he has done that with a food. Four days ago he tried applesauce for the first time which he seemed to think was ok but didn't like as much as he liked the sweet potatoes.

We also built Brandon's jumperoo which he loves.

First Laugh

Stu was changing Brandon tonight and he covered his face with his onesie and said, "Where is Brandon?" He then removed the onesie and Brandon started laughing. It is the first time he has ever laughed. He kept laughing and laughing. It was the cutest thing. Of course I had to get it on video.

7 Month Pediatrician Appointment

Brandon had his 7 month pediatrician appointment today with Dr. Kerensky. He is very happy with how well Brandon is doing. Brandon had 3 shots today. He is now done with his shots for the year. He doesn't need to go back to the pediatrician for 3 months. He is 25 3/4 inches long (10th percentile for his actual age of 7 months on the chart), 14 pounds 7 ounces (25th percentile for his corrected age of 4 months on the chart...he is not on the chart yet for a 7 month old), and his head is on the 25th percentile for a 7 month old. So he is catching up to where he should be. His head and length are there. Hopefully his weight will be soon. We got the go ahead to try solids but Dr. Kerensky wants me to give him a bottle first each time and then I can give him solids. He said to try fruits except for berries and citrus and vegetables except for tomatoes and since Brandon is not a huge fan of cereal by itself I can mix some into his fruit or vegetable. I can let him eat as much as he wants one or two times a day. He wants him to have a minimum of 26 ounces of formula every day but now instead of feeding him every 3 hours I can feed him every 4 hours. Dr. Kerensky also switched his zantac to axid. I mentioned how hard it has been to get him to take the zantac because of the taste. He either spits it back at me or clamps his mouth and turns his head. Axid is supposed to be much better tasting and is in the same family as the zantac.

Big Boy Bath

Brandon's bath tub came with a sling that we were putting him on when we were giving him a bath. He doesn't need to use the sling anymore. Now he can just be put in the tub which he loves. You can see his umbilical hernia in the picture. It has gotten much smaller already. The doctors all say it should continue to get smaller and eventually look like a normal belly button.

Opthamologist Appointment

Brandon had an appointment yesterday with Dr. Turtel. He hadn't been in 8 weeks which is the longest stretch so far. For awhile we were going every week and then we finally were able to go after 3 weeks and now was 8 weeks. He looked at Brandon's tracking, looked to see if he was near sighted or far sighted (I forgot to ask what he was), and looked in his eye with a lense to see if the ROP was getting better. He said his eyes are looking really good. We don't need to go back for 7 months!

Big Smile

Happy Valentine's Day

Loving the Exersaucer

Not too much new to report for this week. I think this may have been the first week since Brandon came home that he did not have a doctor's appointment of some kind or physical therapy at our house. Grandma Newman babysat for Brandon last Saturday so I could go renew my driver's license and Grandma Jacobs babysat this past Tuesday so I could go with Stu to Philadelphia for his eye doctor appointment. We took advantage of the beautiful weather this week by going on some walks. Yesterday Brandon started taking all of his naps in his crib. Before that I was having him nap in the pack n play in our living room but there is a 15 pound limit and I am guessing that he is close to 15 pounds, if not 15 pounds already. He actually is napping much better in his crib than he was in the pack n play. I also seem to have gotten him on a schedule which he is doing great with. He wakes up early (usually around 6-6:30 although if it were his choice he would be up between 5:15 and 5:30...I make him go back to sleep) so he is usually ready for a short nap around 7:45-8:00. It usually only lasts 45 minutes to an hour. He then takes about a 2 hour nap around 10:45 and again around 2:00-2:30. He then goes down for the night at 7:00 pm. He is so tired by then and so ready to go to sleep. We wake him for a bottle at 10:00 and then he goes right back down and then we wait for him to wake us for the next bottle which is usually between 3-3:30 am. He then goes back down after that bottle until he wakes a few hours later. I will be happy once he is sleeping through the middle of the night feeding but at least he is only up for one bottle. And he really seems to need that bottle. He seems to be really hungry when he does wake up. I have found that he sleeps much better with his arms swaddled but he often breaks out of the swaddle. I ordered the miracle blanket which will hopefully arrive quickly so hopefully he won't be able to get out of that. Brandon is such a happy boy most of the time. He is all smiles for me and Stu which we love. He does let you know when he had had enough of something though or when he is tired.

Sitting Like a Big Boy (with some help from the boppy)

All Smiles

Happy Baby

Brandon woke up from his nap yesterday in his pack n play. I looked in at him and when he saw me he started to smile non-stop.

7 Months Old Actual, 4 Months Old Corrected

Where does the time go? I can't believe that Brandon is 7 months old today. He will be 4 months corrected on February 10th (which means he would be 4 months old if he was born when he was due). Brandon is doing great. As of 1 1/2 weeks ago he weighed 13 pounds, 8 ounces. I am guessing he is close to 14 pounds now but we don't go to the pediatrician for another 2 weeks so I will know then how much he weighs. He is still getting physical therapy but is doing great with that. His physical therapist is now only coming once a month! He is turning his head both directions now with no problems. He still has a slight head tilt but it is barely noticeable and will correct too. He is awake for long periods throughout the day and wants to constantly be entertained. His favorite toy is a piano that my parents bought for him that plays different songs and has lights that light up when the songs play. He loves to stare at lights. We set up his exersaucer and he is enjoying being in that too. He wants to constantly stand which means we need to hold him under his arms since he is too small to hold himself up yet. He has discovered his voice and "talks" all of the time. Especially in the middle of the night when he wakes up for his bottle. He starts to talk as soon as he sees me. He has also started to yell when he wants to do something other than what we are doing with him. He has started to suck his thumb. He sometimes sucks it in the day and I see him on the video monitor when he wakes up during the night sucking on his thumb. Other than two nights in the beginning of January he is still not sleeping through the night. He usually goes to sleep after his 7:00 bottle and then we wake him to give him a bottle at 10:00. He then sleeps until around 3:00 am and then goes back to sleep until about 5:15. At that time I go in and settle him and he will last until around 6:30. I won't take him out of his crib before 6:00 even though I am sure he would love it. He has started to taste different solids but is not having enough yet to replace meals. He had prunes last night for the first time and loved them! As for his bottles, sometimes he loves them and drinks the whole amount quickly...other times I have to fight him to drink them. I am part of a preemie message board and it seems many of the other parents are going through the same thing with their babies. His overall intake is good in a day which is what I am more focused on.

Superbowl

We were so excited for the Steelers win last night in the Superbowl. It wound up being a very exciting game. My parents and Stu's parents came over to watch the Superbowl with us.