3 Months Old

Last Wednesday (July 11) Gus turned three months old. While I'm training myself to focus more on his due date (as I said last time), it's also hard not to consider the changes that occur at three months. I remember from the birthing class Jamie and I took before Wyatt was born that three months is supposed to mark some sort of awakening in infants, where they truly become aware of their surroundings. And with Wyatt, I distinctly remember that happening. It was like a switch had flipped.

Sure enough, on Tuesday night I looked at Gus and he looked at me, and there just seemed to be this glimmer that wasn't there before. And he reached out and touched my beard a number of times (a memorable milestone with Wyatt).

Needless to say, we're all making good progress. Gus is nursing almost exclusively now and continuing to gain weight just fine (he's up to 7.5 pounds at last weigh-in). I still give him a bottle first thing in the morning, so Jamie can sleep in a little and so he can get vitamin drops. We're all generally getting about as much sleep as can be expected -- Jamie's up with him once overnight and then I get up at around 5:30 to feed him and get ready for work. The hardest thing is going to bed at a decent hour, though I tend to nod off on the couch at around 10:00 no matter what.

I think Wyatt's getting used to Gus being here and the idea that he isn't leaving. But the baby isn't exactly a source of much entertainment for him, nor a good playmate. But he's relatively happy doing his own thing when Jamie has to tend to Gus.

Very thankfully, my parents were here for the past two weeks, which gave Jamie and Gus enough time to work out breastfeeding. She and "the boys" had their first solo days last Thursday and Friday and they went smoothly. But I'm definitely going to have to make more of an effort to leave work on time -- I know how much I eagerly awaited Jamie's return from work when I was home with Wyatt. And that was with just one, her usually arriving by 4:15.

I'll keep you posted, but I'd say we're officially settled in.

Independence Day

Today is Gus' official due date.

That's really important for us, because up until now, it just didn't feel like he was supposed to be here. There was certainly no denying his presence, but it was hard not to look at him and think that he wouldn't "normally" be going through everything he was experiencing -- from eating to seeing (as much as he has) to breathing.

But now it feels like he's had a head start on all of those things, though it was just practice. Starting today, everything counts. "They" say that, developmentally, you should go by preemies' due dates. Meaning that even though he's almost three months old, he's still got that new baby smell. And we're not going to expect him to roll over any time soon. Though if you pitted him against any July 4th newborns, I guarantee he'd kick their butts on the Apgar. Bring it on, estimated 365,000 babies born today!

Day 5

I was saying to my friend Sue the other day (via e-mail) that despite all the energy focused on Gus for the past two months, his arrival home made him feel like an interloper in our little family of three.

But I'm happy to say that feeling has disappeared, as we knew it would. We're now a family of four.

The nights have been pretty good -- no repeats of Night 1. Gus had a follow-up eye exam yesterday, which showed that the mild ROP which had been diagnosed in the hospital (completely normal for a preemie) seems to be improving on its own. The visiting nurse came again yesterday, and he's up to 6 lbs. 13 oz. So even though breastfeeding hasn't been going smoothly (though it is improving), he's getting everything he needs.

Anyway, as promised, here are a few pictures from the day of Gus' homecoming until now.

Night Number 2

I'm not going to give you a blow-by-blow every night, but I wanted to let you know that last night went more smoothly than the first. At the very least, Wyatt didn't wake up. Unfortunately, nursing still wasn't working out as well as we'd like, so we may move to bottle for now (at night). And Gus likes to grunt a lot in his sleep. That did keep Jamie and me up a little bit, though, as usual, Jamie got the brunt of the sleeplessness. Yes, I will be doing some of the bottles.

Of course, that was just one night, too. I'm sure there are any number of variations we'll experience.

He had his first doctor's visit with our regular pediatrician today, and that went well. He's up to 6 lbs 12 ounces (by their scale, anyway). It does seem unlikely that he would have gained four ounces in a day, especially the way he's been eating. And he's 19.5 inches long, for anyone keeping score.

I'll send some pictures soon. Just know that we're doing fine.

Safe and Sound

Just wanted to let you all know that we made it home fine on Sunday. Everyone is adjusting to the new arrangement, but we're generally doing pretty well. Gus isn't nursing quite as vigorously as he was in the hospital, but he gained the proper amount of weight over the past day (on ounce), according to the visiting nurse we saw today. So that puts him at 6.5 pounds.

And big brother Wyatt is being very gentle and taking lots of interest in what Gus is up to. He's pushing some boundaries but not really acting jealous of attention Gus is getting. He's just being two, really. And I think he's happy to have his mother home, even if she can't be with him constantly.

And our friend Tess loaned us a great sling called Tenaya's Dream. Unfortunately, I can't find any good pictures of it. I guess it's just made by a stay-at-home mom. And it essentially consists of a long stretch of cotton that you wrap around you in a Double Windsor. Needless to say, I can't figure it out, but Jamie loves it. It keeps Gus in just the right position and tightly held against her chest, leaving her hands free. It's going to be indispensable when I go back to work next week. Though my parents are coming back from New Jersey for one-to-two more weeks of pitching in.

The biggest challenges so far have been feedings and sleeping. Well, sleeping at night, for any of us. Really, it wasn't that bad, but we were all up from 2:30 till 4:00 in the morning last night. Wyatt was very interested in Gus eating (more so than Gus, really), so we needed to get him his own milk. Tonight, I'll have it standing by.

Wish us luck.

Delayed Launch

Just because I know some people are waiting to hear about Gus' trip home, I wanted to let you know that it's been delayed a bit. Nothing's wrong, but the doctors felt he could do with a couple more days of observed nursing (since it does tire him out). Also, Wyatt has a bit of a mystery fever (probably just teething). So right now we're scheduled for Sunday.

Homeward Bound

Okay, so you remember how the nurse said she could see Gus coming home in a week? And I poo-poo'ed it as pie-in-the-sky?

Well, a week later, he's scheduled to come home. That's Friday, the 22nd of June.

Crazy as it seems, as quickly as the past ten weeks have gone, he's coming home. Actually, I don't want to jinx it by being definitive. So I'll stick with the more cautionary "he's scheduled to come home".

Starting last Saturday, he really started nursing in earnest, though still not getting enough to be counted as a full feeding. Additional milk was being delivered through his feeding tube. On Sunday, he took a little more by nursing and took the rest from a bottle. That was a nice Father's Day present for me, but not what we're ultimately hoping for, since nursing and pumping would be a schlep (technical term).

On Monday, he nursed even more, but it really tuckered him out, and he had to take the rest from his feeding tube.

But yesterday he was able to nurse almost a complete feeding, and today (Wednesday) he took more than he was "supposed" to. Jamie's been going in from six until midnight, so it's meant long days, but hopefully, it will all be worth it come Friday (as scheduled). I'll keep you posted.