August-October 2014

August

Landon's incisions have healed nicely since his surgery, and thankfully he has had no complications.  His weight gain slowed down for a couple of weeks, but he has picked up again he last two weeks.  On the 4th, he weighed 9lb 2oz and he was 23 1/2 inches long!



















His development is still on track and he is still between his adjusted age and actual age.  He is smiling and talking (cooing) all the time now.  He reaches for and grabs things then tries to bring them to his mouth, and he holds his head up well when held upright and in his bumbo chair.  We are still working at tummy time.  Our goal for now is just to keep him from screaming the whole time he is on his tummy.  His home health nurse says he really just needs to get bigger and get more muscle and that will help.

Landon has done pretty well off of the oxygen.  He sometimes slips down into the 80s when he is sound asleep, but usually not for longer than 20 seconds.  The doctor says that is normal.  We have had to put the oxygen on him a few times that he hasn't come back up after a minute, but we haven't had to do that for a week.

Our newest issues are his extreme reflux and teething.  His Zantac worked for about a month, and then he started spitting up just as much as before.  He has also started screaming through most of his feedings, like crazy, loud, inconsolable screaming.  So, the doctor increased his dose to .7mL three times a day, and I've recently started adding a little rice cereal to his bottles to thicken the milk.  I don't know what to do about his teething.  He screams until I rub my finger or the nipple on his bottom gums, so I'm basically waiting for him to cry himself to sleep then get his milk down him while he sleeps.  Hopefully this phase won't last for long!

On the 18th Landon turned 7 months old (3 1/2 months adjusted) and weighed 9lb 5oz.  We went to his NICU follow-up clinic where he was measured then saw audiology because he was on Gentamycin in the hospital and apparently it can have odo-toxic effects.  He passed!  Next, we met with the nutritionist.  She said she would have liked to see him gain more weight up to this point, but he's on track for how much he should be gaining from now on which is 15grams per day (half an ounce).  I've started adding 1mL of coconut oil to each bottle for extra fat grams, so hopefully that will hep with his weight gain.  He eats between 70 and 80mL usually for four bottles each day and nurses between four and six times a day.  Finally, we met with both the occupational therapist and pediatrician.  The OT did his evaluation and Landon was really showing off! He put him on his tummy and he pushed up with his arms and chest and looked around at everyone.  He didn't scream once!  He just kept smiling his big smile.  He did very well and the OT said he looks good developmentally.  The doctor also said he looked good.  He will go back to NICU follow-up when he's 9 months adjusted.

Yep, this is seriously how much milk I have frozen still!

Landon started rolling over the last week of August!  I think he has been extremely motivated by his hatred for tummy time.  Every time I put him on his tummy now he starts trying to roll over.  He weighed 9lb 13 oz at his doctor appointment the same week which is much better weight gain, so he doesn't have to go to a weight check for a month now.

We also went to his NICU reunion at the Roy Aquatic Center.  I took Landon in the pool; he wasn't quite sure what to think of it all.  There were way more people there than he's ever been around before.  We Drs Sheffield, Christensen, and Rich-Denson, as well as RT Sherri, RNs Angie, Heidi, and Rose, Christy the parent coordinator, and Barbara the OT.  We also met up with Amy and Kassidie Kendrick, Landon's little roommate in every room of the NICU.

September

Landon weighed 10lb 2oz on the 9th and measured 25 inches long, that's twice his birth length! He is breathing better without his oxygen and hardly ever beeps below 90% now.  He sleeps really well at night.  He will sleep from about 9:00 pm to about 8:00 am with me waking him up once around midnight to eat.  On the other hand, he is a super-active little boy and doesn't reliably nap during the day.  If I'm lucky he'll sleep for a continuous hour, but most likely he just sleeps 15-30 minutes after eating while I hold him and if I try to set him down he wakes up.  He is all about getting attention, talking, smiling, and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth.

On the 24th Landon weighed 10lb 10oz.  He is full of smiles and loves talking to his toys, his reflection, and sometimes even to people.  Mike can even get him to laugh when he kisses his neck, it is pretty cute.  He is getting so strong and pulls himself forward to support his own weight when I sit him on my lap.  He holds his head really well now when upright, but can't quite hold his own when sitting.  His cute little smile brightens the day of everyone he meets.  One lady saw him and said "Oh, a brand new baby!" Landon gave her the biggest smile and she looked so surprised as she asked "How old is he?"  Yes, my 8 month old baby is the size of a newborn.  But I am so proud of him and thankful to my Heavenly Father that he has gained 9lbs since his birth.  He is truly a miracle.  Now we've got to focus on keeping him from getting sick this flu and cold season.

October

At Landon's 9 month wellness visit he weighed 11lb 3oz, measured 25.6 inches in length, and his head was 17cm.  He is getting so long.  His head is actually on the growth charts now and his length is just about there too.  His weight is another story, but it is still slowly sloping upwards towards the curve.  He smiled and laughed at the doctor all through his appointment.  He is just a social and happy little guy!

He is learning and doing new things almost daily.  He talks and laughs a lot (especially at Mike) and it almost sounds like he is trying to say "Hi" sometimes.  He pushes his chest up while on his tummy and pulls his legs up under and pushes them out like crawling motions, even though he doesn't go anywhere yet.

Mike Wazowski for Halloween!

My little monster!

He recently started eating solids.  Although he doesn't care for rice cereal, he seems to like yams, carrots, and squash so far.  He even has a high chair now.  I can't believe he's starting to do all these "big boy" things.

We also had family pictures done by ourselves and with of our families.

July 2014

Landon has started to become very vocal this month.  He coos, goos, and gaws at his reflection in the play mat mirror, at the leaf on his swing, and even at us sometimes.  It sure is cute! He is just smiles all of the time now. He hasn't been spitting up nearly as much since he started the Zantac and his weight gain has picked up a little bit. He watched fireworks for the first time on the 4th, and on the 10th he weighed 8lb 4oz.

First 4th of July!

Landon had his surgery to repair his bilateral inguinal hernias on the 10th.  We spent the night at the University Marriott the night before in order to avoid having to wake up at 3:30 am to get ready and drive to Primary Children's by the 6:00 am check-in time, and I am so glad we did!  Landon had to have a bath both the night before surgery and the morning of before we left the hotel per hospital rules.  He couldn't have formula past midnight, and he couldn't have breast milk past 3:30 am.  Needless to say, I only got 1.5 hours of sleep from 1:30-3:00 am.  I fed him at 3:00, and then I got myself ready and bathed him before we left for the hospital.  

We had to go register first, and there were about ten other families in that room.  So, we waited in the hall until our pager went off.  After registering, we went to pre-op.  A Nurse Practitioner came and asked us questions, and we had to give Landon a sponge bath with special wipes then dress him in a gown that totally dwarfed him. 

We then went to a waiting room with Landon, and soon all of the other families from the previous room were there.  The anesthesiologist and surgeon came out to talk to us, and then the anesthesiologist took him from me and I kissed his head and Mike and I told him we loved him.  I will never forget what happened next because it was the saddest thing.  Landon realized someone else was holding him, so he looked up and when he didn't recognize her face his bottom lip went out so far and he just started crying.  She walked down the hall carrying him, and then I started crying. He has been through so much, and I hate that he has to go through this too.

We waited in a different waiting room for about an hour and twenty minutes before the surgeon came out to tell us the surgery was done and everything went well.  I was so relieved!  A lady took us back to post-op to see him.  He looked so tiny propped up in a huge crib.  He was still asleep and unresponsive, so we waited about half an hour until the nurse could get him to open his eyes once.  Then they moved us to recovery.

Landon stayed asleep for a long time before we finally heard his very hoarse cry.  I was able to nurse him for a bit before he fell asleep again.  He pretty much slept the rest of our stay in the hospital.  He would just wake up long enough to eat, hen go back to sleep.  We were able to take him home the next day around noon.

Finally awake!

6 months old on the 18th

What a sad face!

Landon has been breathing so well lately that he was able to come off of his oxygen about a week after his surgery!

Yay for no more oxygen!

Appointments, appointments, and more appointments...

Friday, June 6th

Today was mine and Mike's six-year anniversary!  I can't believe it's already been six years!  He took the day off to help me take Landon to his doctor appointment since hauling around all of his equipment is quite cumbersome.  We got Olive Garden take-out on the way home to celebrate our anniversary.

Hi Mom!

All fancy with the bow tie

Landon weighed 7lb 3.5oz at his appointment.  So, he has not gained quite as much as he should have, which would ideally be 1oz per day.  His pediatrician says he must have quite the metabolic fire.  We are supposed to increase his daily total to 460-470mL now to try and push him to gain better.  He measured 20 1/4 inches long.  

Getting sleepy....

His hernias are still about the same and able to retract.  He has been doing great on 1/32 LPM flow of oxygen, and we are just waiting on home health to get us a new regulator so that we can try weaning him to 1/64 LPM.  

Seriously a perfect little angel

The early intervention nurse and developmental therapist came and evaluated Landon at our home.  They said he is looking great and closing the developmental gap between his adjusted age (5 weeks) and his actual age (4 1/2 months).  He will still technically go by his adjusted age for developmental milestones.  They said his head looks great for a preemie, his eyes are tracking, he's turning his head side-to-side while on his belly, and he just started social smiling.  In fact, he grinned at both of the ladies the whole time they were assessing him!  He is starting to get quite the personality.  He loves snuggling on my chest, listening to people talk, staring at the ceiling fan, and taking baths. 

So sweet

Thursday, June 12th

Yesterday Landon weighed 7lb 8.5oz at his appointment.  He was right on track for gaining about an ounce a day.  He is eating five bottles of fortified breast milk and nursing 2-3 times each day now.  He is still on 1/32 LPM of oxygen as we are still waiting on a regulator that goes lower.  He is also still on the same doses of Diuril and Spirinolactone.  He has been spitting up a lot, especially after having his vitamins, and if we lay him flat for even a minute before the 30 minutes is up after eating he will reflux and throw up everywhere.  Sometimes it comes out of his nose too, which is really sad and his eyes get all watery.  We are so thankful for his progress and development and that he is gaining weight. 

Daddy and Landon's favorite activity

Max guarding his little bro

It is the strangest thing to see him sleeping with his hands in the air!

We went to visit our NICU friends while waiting on a prescription yesterday, and all the ladies said he looks so good and is starting to look like Mike.

Skinny boy!

Again, with the hands in the air

Saturday, June 21st

Landon weighed 7lb 12oz at his appointment this week.  His reflux has been a lot worse this week, and he has been spitting up bigger quantities, like 15-20 mL.  The doc says reflux usually progressively gets worse until about 4 months then levels off until about 1 year.

Yay for bath time!

Daddy takes over for nap time

That lip!

We had to go to a consultation with a surgeon at Primary Children's Hospital on Tuesday to discuss Landon's inguinal hernias.  He said Landon should have the surgery soon to prevent the intestines from becoming trapped, which would be a medical emergency.  We scheduled the surgery for July 10th.  He will have to stay overnight, so I will stay with him.  On a lighter note, he has been smiling more and more this past week!

5 months old! (1 1/2 months adjusted)