7.2.16

It’s beginning to look a lot like summer!

8 months (actual) / 4 months (adjusted)
Height: 27 in
Weight: 18.0 lbs

Quick Health Updates:

–Pulmonology: Jack has been off his nighttime oxygen support for just about a month! Continuing to monitor his oxygen saturation and heart rate over night and working with our bffs over at Winthrop Pulmonolgy.

–Neuro: Newest brain ultrasound showed his bleed is resolved at this point with no additional swelling and the neurosurgeon is happy with his development. We won’t know the extent of the damage done until he’s a few more years down the road.  Things might pop up along the way as red flags or they may not.  This kid has surprised us every step of the journey.

–GI/Feeds: Reflux is getting much better and we are managing through medication and thickened feeds as well as holding chunky monkey upright for 30 mins after feeds and a few other tricks of the trade. He is gaining weight and has not had any aspirations or choking incidents since we left our last hospital stay.

–Eyes: Jack’s Retina of Prematurity laser eye procedure back in January is looking good and will continue to be monitored in case there needs to be future touch up done. There’s still the chance he will need glasses in the future.

–Physical Therapy: Jack is rolling, prop sitting and eager to figure out how to crawl. He just wants to move- it’s amazing to watch his determination in our sessions. Jack’s therapist is wonderful and helping us progress along our adjusted milestones.

That’s the health side of things in a nutshell. The rest of our world is…well…just amazing. There are no shortages of hugs, kisses, cuddles, laughs in our home. Not one single second is wasted and there are moments I stop for a second and get emotional at how far we have come.

(Jack’s Mom update)
As we head into July, so does the end of my incredibly generous work leave.  When we first got pregnant, I envisioned myself (having a healthy full term baby) and waltzing back into work a few months later ready to conquer my mommy and professional life without a hair out of place. The reality- it’s nearly a year later, most spent in an intensive care unit, and waltzing would not be a verb used to describe how I’ll conquer. I think every Mom that has had a career prior to babies gets smacked in the face with the guilt of it all. The guilt of being excited to see your work family, the guilt of leaving your baby in someone else’s care, the guilt of time management– it’s a guilt I heard about and never fully understood, even while briefly pregnant. And here I am, updating a blog and tearing up at the thought of it all. What I do know is we haven’t taken one moment for granted here at home. We are the strongest we have ever been and in this next chapter of parenthood every morning and every night we are all under the same roof again the moments may be condensed but will be cherished even more.

Eight months in life is usually a section of time you can’t pinpoint what happened. There are years in my life that I have to really strain to think of the big moments. But these eight months will never be far from reach in my memory. Those five in the NICU will always seem like yesterday. These three at home will forever be warm in my heart. We have had a road to travel on and there will certainly be bumps ahead as health developments unfold but today, at this moment, life is wonderful.

Here’s to Summer and a new season of memories!