Two Months Old!

Nick turned two months old on Saturday! Because Nick was born over two months prematurely, he has what is known as an adjusted age. That means, even though he is technically two months old, with his adjusted age, he will behave like the newborn he should be (his due date is next Monday, so I should be 39 weeks pregnant tomorrow.) His adjusted age is what his pediatrician will use to assess his development, because he will be expected to meet different developmental milestones according to his adjusted age (so if most babies switch to whole milk at 12 months, Nick will be on formula until he is technically 14 months.) His vaccination schedule is the thing that will be based on his actual age.
Nick spent almost all of his time sleeping in the NICU, like he would if I was still pregnant, so he acts just like a newborn by mostly sleeping with a long stretch of awake time in the morning. It is nice to know I didn’t totally miss out on all the newborn goodness, and it’s honestly nice to be taking care of a new baby without the post partum soreness and engorgement. His updates for this month include:

Weight
On Friday at the pediatrician, Nick weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces, but I forgot to check his height (#thirdbabyproblems.) He looks just like a normal newborn, and I already forget what he was like at birth when he was so teeny tiny.

Eating
Nick has become a little high maintence when it comes to eating. He basically keeps to the same schedule he was on in the NICU, and is ready to eat every 2-3 hours. In an effort to help with the reflux he has had trouble with since birth,  which was probably causing him to have so many bradycardias,  his neonatologist switched him to Similac for Spit Up formula. He also has a teaspoon of Similac Sensitivity per feeding, and has the vitamin PolyViSol once a day, which he will take for the first year of his life. I still think his reflux is bugging him, because he will pull his knees to his chest, strain, and grunt after feedings, but I’m nervous to change anything the NICU team decided on.   As much as I like his pediatrician, after having to place all my trust in Nick’s doctors and nurses to act in his best interest, it’s a little stressful to hand over his care to a new doctor who wasn’t there for him since (literally) the first moments of his life and are responsible for him being such a healthy baby now (see all previous posts about how I am the #1 fan of OBs and nicu nurses everywhere.)
We had a little bit of a scare on Friday when Nick woke up with a low grade fever. I took him to the pediatrician because he seemed a bit more uncomfortable than normal, and when the doctor pressed on his stomach, he seemed especially irritated. We went back to the hospital for blood work and an X-ray of his abdomen to rule out an intestinal blockage, and thankfully everything had come back normal so far.

Milestones
Nick’s big achievement this month was becoming proficient at drinking the bottle. Occasionally, I will notice that he is drinking too quickly and will tilt the bottle so that it gives him time to catch his breath, but otherwise he is a pro at drinking from the bottle. Also, of course, busting out of the NICU was a big one too 😉

Coming Up this Month
I was talking to my friend yesterday about how wonderful the word normal is, and I think that’s exactly the case when it comes to preemies. I can’t wait for our life with Nick to be normal. I can’t wait to do normal things, like take Nick to the zoo or go to the grocery store, because it puts further distance between us and the NICU. This past week has been full of such beautiful moments with Nick getting to know his siblings and seeing how much they adore him and how perfectly he fits into our family. I am so excited to introduce Nick to more of his extended family who have been praying for him for him all along and getting into a normal routine as a family of 5 💙