18/8 weeks

Dear Dalton,

Mama can't even believe that you are 18 weeks old.  You are 12 lbs and are busting out of your 0-3 clothes.I am changing you twice a day so that you can wear all of your beautiful clothes before they get too small.  We had Uncle George & Aunt Debbie over last Sunday so that they could see you in your "Dalton's Brigade" outfit.

You are a much happier guy now that we seem to have your acid reflux under control.  And this week you started sleeping for 5+ hours a night- Tuesday night you slept 7 straight hours!  Mommy was so excited, and at the same time was checking on you every hour to make sure you were ok :)  You smile at me & daddy and you love your babysitter, Mrs. Hagie, and  smile all the time at Rachel.  I swear I have even heard you laugh.  You LOVE to be talked to and do your very best to talk back.  I have a feeling that once you start talking, you won't ever stop!  Your favorite toy is your Baby Einstein mat and most of the time you will kick and talk and smile through several renditions of the sun who sings to you.

We love you so much buddy!

Tummy Troubles

So a few weeks ago, Dalton was diagnosed with acid reflux.  He was crying through his feedings and for an hour...or two...or three after.  We tried changing formulas, changing how we were feeding him, and so on but nothing we tried worked.  A call in to the doctor got him an appointment the next morning, and sure enough, the medicine and some adjustments to his feedings helped...although there is no "quick fix" for acid reflux. 

Last night, it decided to rear its ugly head and make our little guy uncomfortable and in pain for, well, about 5 hours.  Unfortunately there isn't much we could do, but wait it out and try to sooth him.  About midnight he calmed down and fell asleep.

I was so anxious to get him up this morning and see how he would do...

geez mama, what's the big deal?

NICU Stay...2 days old 3lbs 1 oz

Dear Dalton,

Today your doctors thought that you were ready to start "real food" so mama watched your nurse, Angela, put a tiny feeding tube down your nose-  Buddy, you didn't even cry!  Mama was so proud of how brave you were. 

You lost another 2oz :( so we hoped that the milk would help you put on some pounds.  So far, you are doing great with every feeding.  They have you on 4ml.

Daddy came up to visit you today and he was so excited because you "smiled" for him!

Your bilirubin levels decreased from 6.5 to 5.9 today!  Hopefully you won't have to be under this light for very long.

Big sister Shelby got a special ok to visit you today and made you a really cool sign for your isolette.  She was so excited to be able to meet you for the first time!

That's all for today!

Love,
Mommy

So I'm a little behind...

Well, now that I am back to work on an "almost full time" basis, maybe I can actually keep up with this blog!  Dalton is a wonderful baby but likes LOTS of mommy time when I am home, so of course I comply :)  So, blogging, cleaning, cooking, sleeping, showering... come second.

I am going to go back & post my journal from when he was in the NICU along with pictures.  Bear with me here as I try to figure this all out!

Becky

Isn't he amazing!

Since Dalton has been home, we have tried to keep him on the schedule they had him on in the NICU.  He was on the "B" schedule and was fed, changed, and vitals checked on the 10,1,4,7 schedule...I had to explain to Chaz that the schedule was a rotating schedule :) and yes, Dalton did eat all night long!  Anyway...well since he's been home, he's proved to me what I thought while he was in the womb...he has his days and nights mixed up, AND it is much funner to sleep in mama's arms than in his brand new bassinet!  So nights have been very fun...he's a very content baby...but is much fussier and awake at night. SO...needless to say, mommy hasn't been getting much sleep.  So my wonderful husband has been offering to stay with him between 10 pm and 1am so that I can sleep for a few hours before I'm basically up all night with him.  Well, yesterday Charlie worked a 14 hour day and didn't get home till 8 pm and was exhausted...but still offered to hang out with Dalton until 1 am.  I argued and told him that Dalton would be fine in his bassinet and just to lay him down and go to bed.  I quickly fell asleep on the couch next to the bassinet and when my alarm went off at 1 am for Dalton's feeding, there was Charlie...sitting in the dark holding Dalton so that he didn't wake me up!  He had to be up at 5:30 to go back to work but still was so thoughtful to let me sleep!  I had to take a picture of it.  I have a pretty amazing husband!!

Well...here goes!

Well, here goes nothing...my first attempt at maintaining a blog.  This is more for myself as most people will not find what I have to write very interesting, except maybe my mom :)  I am an avid scrapbooker who is running about 3 years behind (amazing what marriage and children do for your spare time!) and thought the next best thing would be to keep a blog.  When I was sitting in the NICU with Dalton I swore that I would keep a daily journal of his every day progress...which I did...and now going back and reading it, I realize how much I've forgotten in just 30 days!  So, this blog will help me remember life's everyday moments and how much they shape our little lives!

Becky