Jonah's eating well and at his last pediatricion appointment he weighed in at 16 lbs 3 ounces, meaning he's gained roughly a pound in the last 3 weeks. Not bad for our little buddy, and thankfully a little meat on his bones allowed Mom to ease up on the daily, err should I say hourly, eating quotas and stress. He's also taken to those dissolvable baby puffs. We still break them up into smaller pieces but he likes to practice picking them up and it is hilarious watching him "chew". Jonah's speech therapist introduced him to a straw which he likes and is actually kind of good at. And of course, Jonah can NOT get enough of drinking out of a big cup! We don't know which he loves more the cup or the cold water, but he goes crazy for it.
Jonah has become a little more predicatable lately. He typically takes a short morning nap and an afternoon nap, goes to bed anywhere between 6:30pm and 9pm, wakes up around 11:30pm to remind us he needs his pacifier, again up around 5am for a 5oz bottle and then ready to start his day by 7am. This however, seems mostly like his Monday thru Friday routine. Come the weekend when we are out-and-about or if we have company, he tends to mix it up. The good thing is that for the most part if he skips napping all-together he is still such a good boy and then just hits the sack early for the night. Not terrible, but we also need to start weaning him out of the comforts of his swaddle. He's always been swaddled, but physically he's getting close to the point where he could roll over from his back to his stomach; in which case he probably shouldn't be in his straight-jacket. Ooops.
His personality is the best part. He's soo much fun and soo happy. We don't forget the days of inconsolable crying and dangling NG tubes - so this is not something we are taking for granted. He loves playing and really has been adapting well to the new situations, people, and environments we've been exposing him to recently. For example, he had a blast last weekend when we took him to Olivia's 1st birthday party. He had only been exposed to that large of a crowd once before, and after a few minutes of warming up to his new surroundings, he had a blast (and so did we - thank you Lisa and Brian!). Going to storyhour at the library has been a big help too. The class consists of only those babies under 12 months old so pretty much everybody is doing what he's doing and it's just long enough so he doesn't get too antsy. It is exactly the kind of social outing he needs! And it's been a great way to meet other families in the area too. Double bonus!!
Jonah's physical strength has come such a long way in such a short time. He can roll over from his stomach to his back and almost from his back to stomach...when he really wants something:) He is sitting up on his own with no problem. He's reaching in all directions and can almost get back to his seated position, otherwise he's just getting a great ab workout. Overall, Jonah's physical therapist says that each week Jonah is doing a larger percentage of the exercises unassisted. Because Jonah can sit up by himself now, he has turned yet another new leaf. He really enjoys his baths!! He can sit in there forever playing with toys and splashing everywhere. It is way too cute!!
In other news, Stacie went back to work for the first time in 9 months. She was actually off longer that she worked there since starting last January! There were many mixed emotions, but the biggest fear was all of the associations that came with getting to and being at work....pregnant. Puking on the train. Puking on the shuttle. Puking at work. The smell of exhaust getting off the train...almost puking. The phone call from our OB telling us something was seriously wrong with Jonah's heart. The breakdown. The panic. Overcoming these memories was the biggest hurddle in Stacie getting back there. In true Stacie fashion, however, one of her bad habits really helped that first day. She was running late ;-) She forgot to set the alarm the night before- haven't needed that in while! All in all it went really, really well. Good to get out, good to use her skills again, and definitely good seeing the friendly faces of co-workers and patients.
Rob won his NCAA bracket pool (Stacie came in 2nd)! Maybe that money will got to the new home computer we need so badly. Or that landscaping we want to do...or that basement we want to furnish, or the new windows we need...
And finally, a new post wouldn't be complete without picutres...
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| We don't need no education! |
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| Just kidding, I get my education on at the library every week. |
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| Playing with my cousin Nola. |
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| You're looking at the next "Jonah" Sebastian Bach |
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| When you gonna drop Magnum on us, buddy? |
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| I wuv my mummy |
