Thursday August 17th

Sweet baby Griffith had a follow-up visit with the pediatrician. He is gaining weight -- 5 pounds 6.5 ounces today. That was the good news. The bad news is that he had to get vaccinated -- 3 shots in his little, bitty thighs. He was absolutely furious at the ugly turn that events took and has yet another nurse to add to his list of people who will receive their comeuppance some day. Fortunately for her there are a lot of folks on the list ahead of her. He's done pretty well with it. We dosed him with Tylenol before and after and he has slept most of the day. Gathering strength for being up all night unless I miss my guess.
They continue to pester poor Allan. And then complain because he is too worn out to eat. Honestly, it is enough to make me want to scream. So far we have had a barium swallow, vaccines (3), hearing tests (3), an IV stick, an eye exam and an MRI. I'm not entirely sure when he is supposed to be gathering his strength but it seems to me that that's all a bit much. The only silver lining that I can identify is that after all of this there really isn't any reason to continue to bother my son. So maybe he'll get a few days to rest, recuperate and reconsider bottle-feeding.

Another day older

Another big day all around. Allan is having a hearing test. Don't ask me how they test hearing in a baby (raise your hand if you hear a sound?), but that's what they are doing apparently. He is feeling better since his vaccinations and has eaten some from the bottle since then. Honestly, I think that the poor little fellow just doesn't have the strength yet to eat from the bottle every time. Some times it is just easier to let someone else do it.
Griffith continues his streak of sleeping through his walks. We went this morning since I thought he might be a little more alert then. No dice. It was loud and bright outside and we were bumping along rough sidewalk (the umbrella stroller has no shocks on it), but it didn't matter. He didn't stir for the hour that we walked. We did go out on the back deck after lunch because he was so wide awake and he seemed to think that was pretty cool. He was especially interested in the sunlight/shadows made by the light through the leaves. We go back to the pediatrician tomorrow to get his 4 month shots and to check on how he is growing. I don't know about the rest of him but his fingernails have gotten quite long and he has scratched himself twice on the face. I am hesitant to trim them but he's going to turn in to Howard Hughes if I don't. This is definitely a project to be tackled while he is asleep.

Hard-headed Allan

Allan holding his breath and refusing to eat from his bottle.

Hello, Alissa!

Allan on Sunday with Alissa. He was playing possum with Jennifer and me, but as soon as Alissa came over and started talking to him, he only had eyes for her.

Just a-swingin'

Griffith in his swing. He saw the fish mobile on it for the first time today.

Griffith - back from the big walk

Griffith in the baby blue stroller after our long walk this morning. He slept through it. Again.

Poor Allan got his 4 month vaccines yesterday and felt puny all night long. There had been some talk of using "tough love" to try to get him to start taking the bottle regularly, but no one had the heart to start that with him feeling poorly. So he had another pretty good day. He's a big boy these days -- 8 pounds 4 ounces. I took in his bouncey seat tonight. He may well decide that now is the time to take an interest in the outside world just like his brother.
Griffith seems to be adapting to life on the outside. He kept his dad up from a little before three until about 4 or so. The middle of the night continues to be his happy time. Not so much for Jay. He should sleep well tonight because we had a pretty busy day. In addition to his customary supervision of my cleaning of bottles, loading of dishwasher, doing and folding of laundry, Griffith and I took a walk in his baby blue umbrella stroller. He's as cute as a button and made even more so by the fact that I have to pile up receiving blankets in the bottom of the stroller to keep him from sliding out of it. Once again I was excited about how interesting he would fine the great out of doors. Once again he fell asleep immediately and didn't see any thing other than the inside of his eyelids. He sat in the stroller and watched as I did some gardening. Then we came in and took a bath and did our stretching exercises. Then, in order to make sure that he is well-rounded, we watched part of The Sting. This is designed to balance out The Gilmore Girls and Project Runway. We may start watching Sportscenter in the mornings just to get our fill of testosterone.

Happy birthday, boys!

Sorry for the late post. Things have been a little hectic around here. (Don't laugh! Griffith requires an amount of attention that is completely out of proportion to his size.) He had a good weekend. Since this was the end of Grandma and Grampy's trip, there was quite a lot of holding and picture-taking going on. We had our first trip in the big double stroller on Saturday afternoon. I would like to say that he was very impressed with the trip around the neighborhood, but he mostly slept. A feat he repeated when I took him for his second walk this afternoon. The down side is that he really doesn't seem to be taking advantage of the lovely expensive stroller. The up side is that we know what to do when he won't quit crying. He's working really hard to get his fingers in his mouth and I am looking forward to the day that he does because that will totally solve the middle of the night search for the lost pacifier. (Okay, maybe not, but a girl has to dream.)
Allan is still hit-or-miss on the bottle-feedings and there really doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to why he will suck it dry one time and then refuse to do it the next. They did a barium swallow on him today to see if he has reflux that may be causing him difficulty eating but it doesn't look like that is the source of the problem. If he doesn't have any physical impediment to eating, then it looks like they are going to do a little "tough love" and let him get hungry and see if that won't pique his interest in the bottles. I hate to think of it, but it may be the way to get him to step up to the plate.
Today after a nice visit with both boys (who are four months old today!), Grandma and Grampy have headed off for home. It has been really nice to have extra hands for holding babies, but it is going to take me weeks to straighten the boys out (parking lot NOT car park! Momma NOT Mum!) but I have high hopes that I am up to the task.

Allan is sitting on the verge of 8 pounds. He is at 7 pounds 15 ounces and will probably tip the scales tonight at 8 tonight. He's cute as he can be -- all dark-hair, big eyes, long lashes and rosy cheeks. He's still not overly interested in the bottle, though. It isn't that he doesn't know how to operate it - about once a day he will suck a whole bottle down with no problem. The rest of the time, though, he really isn't all that interested. He may do half or a quarter or none at all. One of his favorite feed times is (unfortunately) the 3 a.m. slot. And usually for Caitlyn. You may remember Caitlyn. She's the one who got Griffith on the night shift. (Thanks, Caitlyn! There is such a thing as karma. Remember where you heard that.) I told her that the other night when Griffith was doing his up-all-night routine I started to give her a call. If I had had a second set of hands I would have. Anyway, they are still talking about Allan coming home late next week, but unless someone has a "come to Jesus" with him about his eating, it isn't going to happen that soon. Still he will be coming home sooner rather than later.

Griffith is doing very well at home. We've had a lot of firsts. Today we took our first ride in the stroller. We thought he would be all eyes, but he mostly slept. Yesterday we watched our first episodes of The X-Files (he thinks Mulder is funny) and Project Runway (neither one of us thought that Bonnie should have been voted out - it should have been Keith.) Grandma and Grampy head back on Monday so he's been spending quite a lot of time with them, too. Every one keeps asking how he's sleeping. The short answer is that he sleeps a lot better than Jay and I do. He really loves the vibrate function on the bassinet, but someone needs to explain to me why the vibration cuts off after 15 minutes. That is just long enough for Griffith to begin to relax and drift off -- only to be jarred awake when it stops. And we feel his pain. It isn't as if the vibrating hurts him (does it?) because, God knows, I just hit the button again when he cries. He has also taken to peeing out of his diaper in the night and soaking his gown and blankets, etc. He finds this beyond annoying. I think he secretly believes that one of us is responsible for this negative turn of events. Other than that, he sleeps great. Just great.

Okay, my CD drive is stuck and Gateway is sending me a new one. The upshot of it is though that I erased the pictures on the compactflash card and can't get the ones on the CD on the site. Sorry about that but I should have more photos soon.

Alissa and Allan

Alissa with Allan. She started off as Griffith's girlfriend, but sweet Allan won her over. Although no one is keeping score, I'm sure.

The source of the problem

Caitlyn with Allan. Caitlyn is the one who is going to come over every night to play with Griffith at 3 a..m.

Thursday August 10th.

Allan is faring very well on his diet. He has lost weight (25 grams total) for the past two days. He's still quite a big fellow but now that he is on the lower calorie breast milk he should slim down a bit. We are working on his bottle-feeding every day because that is the only thing holding him back at the moment. He has the whole suck, swallow, breath thing down, but it just takes so much energy that he gets tuckered out before he eats much more than an ounce. It really is all a matter of building up enough strength to eat enough eight times a day. Once he gets that down, Dr. DeSai is kicking him to the curb.
Griffith had another big day. We went to the pediatrician this morning. He was wide awake for his ride to the doctor's office -- he literally stared out the window and didn't make a peep unless the car stopped. Then he would cry. His exam went very well -- he has gained about 4 ounces since Monday. He is now 5 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches long. Compared to all kids his age (literal age, not adjusted) he is in the 3rd percentile, meaning that he is as big or bigger than 3 % of the kids his age. He's got some growing to do.
Grandma and Grampy made it back in yesterday from their trip and are getting in lots of hold time with both boys.

Message from Griffith

Hi, everybody! I'm helping Momma blog today so don't be surprised if this message cuts off in the middle. Sometimes I hit the wrong buttons and sometimes I just lose interest and make Momma stop. I just wanted you to know that, so far, I like the outside world pretty well. I do miss all of my nurses and friends at the hospital, especially the ones who worked at night. Momma and Dad aren't nearly as energetic and fun at 3 a.m. as Sarah, Caitlyn and Krista. Mom and Dad keep trying to get me to go to sleep, but I keep trying to get them to pick me up. So far I'm winning but it takes some work to get them to cooperate. My new nursery is pretty bright but I haven't spent much time in there. Mom and Dad keep me in a bassinet next to their bed at night. The rest of the time one or the other is usually holding me. I do have some cool new stuff -- my swing is very cool -- it plays under the sea music and rocks me back and forth. And I really like all of the ceiling fans here. Maybe you should put some of them in the NICU. I could watch them for hours. Mom and I sat on the porch for a little while today and she tried to show me the rain storm, but I was too tired and not able to keep my eyes open. I'm sure I'll be suitably impressed later. I have my first pediatrician visit tomorrow morning. So that will be my first big trip out in to the real world. I'll give you a full report tomorrow. Time to take a nap.

Settling in

Yesterday went very well. We are all beginning to settle in. Griffith was having a bit of a tummy ache. In order to make sure that he is getting enough minerals, etc., they put him on 4 bottles of formula a day. The rest are breast milk fortified with formula. He isn't a big fan of the pure formula and it does seem to make him a little gassy. We've been giving him Mylicon drops, though and that seems to help some. Or did until 3 o'clock this morning. We did very well sticking to his hospital schedule of 3, 6, 9, and 12 feedings. He didn't give us much choice -- when he's ready to eat, he lets you know. We had a big night last night. When Dad went to visit Allan, wE played in the swing, we sang, we danced, we did exercises. I sang every song I know and made up verses to others and created some to describe whatever we happened to be doing at the moment. I need to pull out the 4H songbook and brush up on some lyrics,though because Bottle of Wine, Fruit of the Vine is probably not an appropriate lullabye. Griff also discovered t.v., both good (Jon Stewart and Keith Olbeman) and bad (Bring It On).
Allan had a good day, too. They've taken him down on the fortifier so that he isn't getting so many extra calories and (although they claim it is unrelated) given him an exercise routine. My. Poor.Baby. The exercises aren't for weight loss -- they are for flexibility, but the timing couldn't be more perfect, following so quickly on the heels of the diet. There was an unnecessary comment made about his weight and flexibility -- he's doing fine with his arms but needs to work on the flexibility of his legs. You know he really can't move them as freely because he is so fat. All right now, people, back off of my baby. It isn't as if he is making poor nutritional choices or raiding the frig in the middle of the night. You all decided it would be a grand idea to pump him full of the baby equivalent of milk shakes eight times a day -- you can not now blame him for being husky! Anyway, he was still doing well with his lower oxygen and the regular wall cannula. Now he needs to work on bottle-feeding. He'll do it some but not all he needs and not every time. It is just easier to have someone put it in your belly than suck it out of a bottle. No parole until he's doing that.
Another big day awaits us...Dad and Griff are still snoozing after the 6 o'clock. I'll get ready to go visit Allan while they hang out here to wait for the dryer repair guy (couldn't have happened at a better time). Grandma and Grampy arrive back sometime this afternoon so there will be a bunch of loving to be had.

It was a very big day

Griffith's "transfer" went very smoothly and we seem to have made it through the night. One down and however many thousands left to go. Yesterday was kind of a long day for all of us and it will be nice to settle in to a routine. The question is who sets the routine, but I think we already have a pretty good idea of the answer.
It took until the middle of the afternoon until we were discharged so we didn't get home until about 3:30. (This was partly due to the fact that we hit the Sonic drive-through on the way home! ) Griffith really wasn't all that interested - he did not want an order of Ched 'r' peppers with that, thank you very much. Once he ate and got settled, we all took naps. Then it was time to feed him (and ourselves) again. Griffith was doing great. Of course, he hadn't been put down from 3:30 until 7:00. Griffith seems to like our swing and hung out in it while we were eating. Of course, we didn't have it adjusted correctly and, at the beginning, he was swinging a little higher and faster than strictly necessary. He probably thought he was on The Whip at the county fair! Once we got that straightened out, Dad headed back to the hospital to visit with Allan and we settled in here. We are supposed to stick to the hospital feeding schedule so we are on a 3, 6, 9, 12 treadmill. Griffith is in a bassinet by the bed and I would love to report that, between feedings, he was quiet as a lamb but, Lord, he's a noisy little thing -- sucking on the pacifier, rooting around for it,wriggling, groaning, stretching. He was a bit of a night owl. Three o'clock and he was ready to play. I suppose we'll get used to it, but right now we are all ears. He sneezed around 2 and we both bolted upright. He likes the bassinet. It has a vibrate mode and he's all in to the thousand fingers massage.
Allan had a good day yesterday, too. He is off the high-flow cannula and on to the regular wall cannula which is a big step for going home. He seems to be doing very well. Now we just have to convince him that bottle-feeding is something he wants to do full-time. Dr. DeSai examined him yesterday because he had had a big weight gain the day before and she wanted to make sure that he wasn't getting too much fluid. He's not. She pronounced him "fat" and is taking him off of the special high-calorie formula. That's right, she's putting my baby, my one pound nine ounce baby, on a diet. He is doing well, but is probably a couple of weeks from going home. Fortunately he isn't lonely -- he is now roommates with Makenze, Griffith's former girlfriend. Little hussy is determined to get herself one of my boys.
We aren't sure what today holds. We are just going to play it by ear and, every time Griffith howls, one of us will jump to figure out what caused it and, more importantly, how to make it stop.

First nap at home

After the big excitement of getting home, we both needed to regroup.

Griffith - bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Griffith taking a keen interest on his first ride home.

Griffith - ready to roll

Momma and the boys

Momma and the boys before leaving for home with Griffith.

Geri and her boys

She's sorry to see Griffith go, but will be keeping her noon and six dates with Allan for a while.