Fingers Crossed

Tweet Klaw had another checkup at CHKD.  He weighs 11lbs 11oz and is 23" long.  He had another round of blood work done and we are hoping this is the last for at least several months.  They were able to get blood from a vein in his arm on the first try!  It was wonderful to not have my son poked multiple times with nothing to show for it.  We should have the results near the end of the week.

He is now completely weaned and solely being fed the Monogen formula.  I have noticed some positive changes.  He is MUCH easier to wake up for his middle of the night feedings, which means I am getting slightly more sleep.  Previously, it was taking me almost an hour to wake him and I was having to work to keep him awake during the feedings.  Now, I get up & fix his bottle, wake him up, feed him, burp him, lay him back down to sleep.  The whole process only takes about 20 minutes.  I hope the blood work reflects the improvements I am seeing.

Klaw is becoming more and more alert, in general.  He is very interested in everything.  Getting him to take a nap is increasingly difficult because I don't think he wants to miss anything!  New faces, lights, new sounds, car rides, stores, you name it...he wants to take it all in.  He is also smiling & laughing a lot more and showing more interest in some baby toys.  It's a lot more fun to interact with him now because he responds in his own way.  He is also beginning to rock & try to roll over...if he is on any type of incline, regardless of how slight, he accomplishes the task of rolling over.  His strength & force of will as a 2 month old is rather daunting!  I think I'm going to have my hands full once he becomes mobile.

UPDATE:  Klaw's bloodwork showed that he has maintained a good C-14 level for a month which is exactly what we wanted to see happen!!!

Hooomeward Bound...

Tweet I just got back from a sojourn South for a week & a half with a 6 week old.  WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Truth be told, Klaw is an excellent traveler!  He was not bothered by the different locales, being locked in a car seat for hours on end, or all of the excitement of new people & lots of activity.

The purpose of the trip was my best friend's wedding on St. Simon's Island.  It was absolutely beautiful - the weather was perfect, the location divine & the bride gorgeous!  Congratulations to Sharon & Bill and best wishes for all of the happiness in the world!

In addition to Sharon's wedding, my Sister, Niece, Aunt & Uncle also came down to visit...so Nana & Mama had the whole family minus Chris & my Brother-in-Law.  Evidently, Klaw was quite personable and enjoyed meeting the whole family.

Now for the drama:

Klaw decided to jump from eating a mere 21 oz a day to about 27 oz a day for a few days.  The dietician at CHKD and I had not planned on this extreme jump when we worked to figure out how much Monogen I would need to take with me on this trip.  By Sunday, I realized I was going to be up the proverbial creek without a paddle so I frantically contacted the dietician.  I was afraid I would have to cut my trip short...then I became afraid that I wouldn't even have enough formula to make it home!  Talk about a scared Mama!!!

I was stressing out majorly at this point and I tend to keep my cool pretty well - I guess those days are over if the stressful situation involves my kid!  To make the situation even better, my iPhone dies.  DIES!!!!  A complete and horrible death.  I lost 24 hr access to email, facebook, my games...MY GAMES!!!!  Oh, and I couldn't make phone calls, either.  I had no way to be contacted by anyone who didn't know my mom's phone number.

Within 24 hours, the dietician had found another dietician nearby that had samples of a formula, Enfaport Lipil, that could be used in place of the Monogen until we returned.  Big hugs to Nemours Children's Clinic for helping us out!!!

After picking up the Lipil, we made our way over to the Apple Store in St. Johns Town Center so I could try & get my phone fixed.  Guess what???  I stumped the Apple Geniuses.  Yep, my phone was/is/always shall be kaput.  Oh well, I had to buy a new phone!    Now, I am in the process of reinstalling many of my apps and hoping I can one day remember all of my contacts...yep, I never synced my contact list, so I lost them ALL!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Tweet Happy Mother's Day to my Mama, Nana, Stepmom, Mom-in-Law, Stepmom-in-Law, & all of my bonus Moms & Grandmoms.

Oh, and Happy Mother's Day to me!

Life is Good!

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Well, we had an unexpected surprise this past Thursday!  Chris's boat pulled in for a personnel exchange and some repairs - they are still in the trials & testing phase, so this happens.  We were just lucky it happened when they were here!  Chris was able to spend two nights at home and, as a bonus, his mom, Cynthia, is in town visiting.  What a wonderful Mother's Day weekend for her to be able to spend it with her grandson & son!

 

You have to excuse the mustache - none of the guys expected to be able to see their families!

Klaw is doing well overall.  We are still trying to get his blood work results good & consistent.  We have greatly increased the amount of formula he needs to eat every day and we are only breastfeeding 1-2 times a day at the most.  He is gaining weight (10lbs 6oz, currently) and growing just like he should, so he is a healthy little boy.  A "not-so-professional" assessment from his doctor described him as a "beautiful baby boy."  I agree wholeheartedly!

We are getting into a routine and it seems like my sleep needs are adjusting pretty well overall.  Klaw is still such a little trooper.  He really is making all of the running around, formula feeding, blood work, urine samples, etc, as easy as possible.