Well, we made it into the double digits! 10 days home with our little man!
Jasper, you seem to have taken to your role as King of the Castle pretty nicely. You, Mama, Papa, and Ollie have slowly been settling into a routine at home and couldn’t be any happier.
Mama and Papa could probably use a bit more sleep, but don’t you worry, we’re slowly getting the hang of it. The days are spent doing nothing more than feeding you, changing your diapers and staring at you. It’s amazing how fast the days go by!
On Mother’s Day, you got to see your Granny Jan, Auntie Jen, Uncle Eric, Auntie Kelsey and your cousin Noel. It was a fun afternoon and all of us just can’t wait until you and your cousin are running around together!
Monday, May 9th, you had your first appointment with the pediatrician. It was the first time she met you and she was very complimentary of how cute you are and is very reassured with how well you are doing.
Big stats for that appointment:
YOU FINALLY BROKE 5 POUNDS – YAHOO! Mama and Papa actually high-fived in the pediatrician’s office.
- Weight – 5# 1oz ~30th percentile
- Length – 18 1/3 inches ~30th percentile
- Head Circumference – 13.5 inches ~50th percentile
You were supposed to have an extra seven weeks in Mama’s tummy, so we will look at your growth based on your “corrected age” (or gestational age). This is your age based on how old you would be if you had stayed in Mama’s tummy until your due date, which was May 25th.
Papa put together your new stroller and the three of you took a walk last Friday night to go get some dinner. The sun was shining and your Mama was itching to get outside. You seemed to love being in the stroller and hopefully are getting excited for when you and Mama get to go running together! That won’t be for several more months, but that’s okay – the walks are nice too.
You’ve been getting stronger and stronger with breastfeeding and at your last weight check on May 12th – you weighed 5# 4.5 ounces! You are still getting bottles every day with Mama’s “super charged” breastmilk. Breastfeeding is still really hard work for you, so until you get just a bit stronger and gain more weight, we’ll be supplementing the breastfeeding with bottles of fortified breast milk. You don’t seem to care for the formula added to the breast milk – it makes your tummy hurt L This makes Mama and Papa very sad and we can’t wait for the day we can put those bottles away!
You have another weight check this week and a follow up with the nutritionist to see when we can start taking you off the fortifier. The following week, you have an appointment with the Cardiologist to take another peek at your ticker. While you were in the NICU, we found out you had a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) and a Patent Foramen Ovale, both of which are more common in preemies. So, you’ll have one more echocardiogram to see if these have closed.
We’re hoping after these appointments, we’ll be able to take a break for a bit and only go to your regular well-child check ups. In about 4 ½ months, you’ll meet with the Children’s Therapy Department to make sure you’re meeting developmental milestones and catching up with other kiddos your age. We’re not worried one bit, as you’re already meeting all the milestones you should!
We’re so proud of you, bud. You’ve come a long way in the past 5 weeks. Can you believe you’re supposed to still be in Mama’s belly? We definitely had a scary and rough start as a family, but we’re ready to close that chapter and start fresh. We love you and each other more than we ever thought was possible and are so excited to watch you grow and thrive at home.
Cheers to new beginnings!
MIKETOWN 