Were home and thriving!

Jonathan is on donor milk and its a true GOD send because he has taking off again. He is drinking about 17 ozs and eating about 3 ozs, he is getting close to that year old mark so his weight is slowing gaining, he is 12lbs 12ozs sad since he weighed more than that a month ago oh well he is gaining, happy and back to our fisty little man! We switched pediatrician and Justin and I are so happy we did she is great, (Thanks Jamie for the referal) she said Jonathan looks to be doing good and if losing a little weight is all he really has gone through for being a 25 weeker weeker we should feel blessed (since I am a fanatic about his weight its hard to see him lose any of it but I am also glad he is not losing anymore). He is going to be getting weighed every week for awhile just to make sure he continues to gain, he will be getting the flu shot and possible our first synergis(sp?) shot this friday man I hate that summer is gone I will especially miss going to church! Jonathan is back to wearing his helmet his poor head sweats so bad I mean when we take it off there is sweat all over. He is bringing his hands to his mouth and he is batting at things, I love it just to see your baby grow up in front of you is so amazing! Still no head control, we seen a early on p.t and she thinks once we get the back muscles stronger everything will fall into place. He doesn't mind to much being on his tummy where before he hated it and I can tell he wants to lift his head to look around when we're holding him but when it gets up it flings back and he really can't get it back up without help. The physical theripist ask which hand he uses more of and it was clearly his right when he came home now it seems like the left, he is always proving me wrong. When we went for the eval. he was on his best behavior laid on his belly looked to the left, sat in my lap his head against my chest looking straight ahead, using both hands however the left one stayed clinched a bit more they didn't even know till I told them he had torticollis, he can be a stinker! TOday little man has had lots of gas and cried and cried he hasn't pooed in 3 days which I think is unusual since he is on breast milk, well I will call the peds. office tomorrow afternoon if nothing shows up tonight but I hope for his sake it comes out cause that has to be painful my baby sure needs a break, maybe a vacation to florida this spring? As soon as I find my camera I will post birthday and helmet pictures!

A hospital stay:(

Well Jonathan continues to not want to eat, he is losing weight! So we went to our ped. and he admitted us to the hospital Friday the GI doc looked at him yesterday and thinks its reflux so we are again starting prevacid, the last time we tried a month ago we only tried it for 2 days so this time we have to try it for at least two weeks and hopefully we see an improvement. He just did not like the transition from breast to formula and our crazy ped. (we have an appt. with a new ped this tuesday hopefully were home) telling us to try different formula and to his recommendation. Jonathan has tried FIVE different ones in the last month :( So the GI doc today said we could go back to similac advance but I think I will put him on neosure its easier on his tummy. So jonathan has the helmet. sitting on the desk in the living room, he can't use it since he cries and loses calories. While here at the hospital a neauro specialist came to see us and low and behold she said jonathan has a flat spot (thats why she gets paid the big bucks)! I am really upset were here, I am a freak about cleanliness and him catching a cold particularly RSV but I also want this problem solved it is so hard to see my little man crying all day because he is in pain. Justin comes to the hospital at night because his mom is in U of M NICU (neuro itensive care) with a moderate brain bleed that happened suddenly while she was working out in the pool! So all of this is very stressful right now and we are just praying its going to get better!

Happy Labor Day!

So much has happened and actually I am overwhelmingly tired to say the least!
I'll start out with Jonathan had his first studio pictures done the middle of August and he pretty much cried through the whole thing, however we got some pretty good shots! Next we went to his ped because of all the crying lately and found out he had an ear infection to which the doctor put him on amoxicillin. We went for his nine month well visit and even though he is gaining weight slowly he is gaining, 13lbs 1.5oz. Everything else turned out o.k I talked to him about his constant crying and he wasn't concerned (lucky for him to say he isn't dealing with it)! So that was on a Thursday (22nd)and the doc sayed stop his antibiotic on sat. which would only have been 7 days, whatever I stopped him on Monday so he had nine days worth. Now I am not in the least exaggerating when I say Jonathan screamed all day Tuesday, on Wednesday (still crying) I took him back to his peds. office where of course he is a happy little boy, again I explained how I have been up with him for 36 hours crying, I've had to pull over to get him out of his carseat because he was turning himself blue! The doc looks at is ear and said its still a little red, to where I immediately said your the one that wanted him of his antibiotic sat. and in turn I kept him on it till monday!!!!!!!! So the doc said he wants him to go on augmetin it's stronger and it will clear it up. So I started him on that Wednesday night, he slept a little better but Thursday was in misery again, another whole day of crying! Friday we went to p.t where Bruce could do very little with him since he was so tense. Well on top of all this we have been living with my in laws which are great people but since our house is getting a complete makeover we can't stay there but its nice to have those extra hands! So Saturday was just another day of pain (I took him off of the augmetin Friday around 2pm) for our little guy, what is going on he just cries and cries and now its been 2 days of not eating much so of course I call the ped. office where they want us to come in at 1:30, this time I am taking my mother in law she has seen whats been going on and she is not shy so she will tell them I'm not a loony mom that is going crazy! So we seen a new ped. because our doc wasn't in and to our surprise he tell us augmentin is very hard on babies stomachs errrr, why the heck would he put him on it! So this doc looked at his ears and they looked fine but he did lose weight he is now 12lbs 14ozs so he wants us to see our regular doc this Tuesday, tomorrow. He really is doing better not crying as much but we also changed his formula, everyone told us its probably not that but he just went on formula 2 months ago up until that he was exclusively on breast milk! So we went to a sensitive and even though he cries less he still isn't up to par on his feeding, only getting about 17 to 19ozs a day.



Well on a good note Jonathan's hearing seems to be improving he looks when people are talking to him, but only sometimes but at least we see an improvement. We are going to celebrate Jonathan's 1st birthday on the 13th of Sept. since were getting close to rsv season. I am still very concerned about his head control, he is still not lifting it, we are getting the helmet on the 11th of Sept. so maybe that will help! Well I must tend to my crying prince! Any suggestion would be great!

What an Adventure!

Wow time goes by, almost a month since my last post! Well we went to the audiologist at U of M and they reconfirmed that Jonathan's has auditory neauropathy (he can hear but not understand what we are saying) however at beaumont hospital they had a response of hearing at 70 db and this time at U of M they had a 55 db response so the plan is we will continue praying that Jonathans hearing just gets better, the audiologist says it does happen, but in the meantime we will be getting extensive speech therapy 2 to 3xs a week then in a month we will reevaluate and either he is getting better or Jonathan will have to be fitted for hearing aides. Justin and I both see an improvement with his hearing but do realize his hearing impairment. He enjoys looking at objects that have lights or moves. He doesn't really respond to rattles or soft noises he does however respond when the dogs bark or when someone is using a higher voice. Its hard to tell a doctor what he responds to because sometimes he responds to the noise and the next time he doesn't, it does get frustrating! So we will just start therapy (we actually haven't started yet)and go from there.
We started stage 1 vegetables sweet potatoes were the first and his favorite! He likes all the orange veggies (s. potatoes, squash and carrots) and very much dislikes his green ones (peas, green beans)! Just today I gave him applesauce and he absolutely loved them eating the whole 2.5 ozs, he has decreased his milk intake but is eating more solids. Our day is now a fruit in the morning, veggie in afternoon and cereal just before bed! He got weighed last week and was 12 lbs 10ozs not as much as I thought but he is gaining (I sound like I am o.k with this but in reality I am nuts still counting every ounce that goes in him) typically he is getting about 20 to 22 ozs he just keeps getting longer and not wider!
On Saturday the 10th we heading to Michigan Adventure and oh what an adventure it was!! We went with grandma Tina, grandpa Mark, uncle Matt, great grandma Jane, her friend Betty, aunt Cheryl and cousins Susie and David we stayed in a resort which was really nice and the first night was o.k but on Sunday we went to the park and it was windy 71 was our high and Jonathan is teething. so among the tears, crying, squirming, won't sit , lay or stay in the stroller it was fun! Both Justin and I were ready to pull each others hair out, so for a break aunt cheryl rocked him to sleep, we were so happy when we came off the roller coaster to find Jonathan sound asleep in cheryls arms with a blanket over him, but 15 mins later she put him in the stroller and awake and cranky he was! We went back to the resort and grandpa and great grandma and betty stayed and said they would watch him, he was so happy when I put him on the bed, laughing and trying to roll! (he absolutely loves laying on his back but hates tummy time)! So the rest of us headed back to the park for a couple hours we stayed in the water park and it was really nice to see susie and david have fun, we can't wait till Jonathan is doing these things! So now were back at home and everything is back to normal happy, cheerful little boy unless his gums are hurting! I wonder if the wind was bothering him or if his hearing is irritating him (one minute he hears clear the next min. he can't)I don't know but if you have any suggestion on making teething better please share! I really need to interact Jonathan with other babies he just lights up with them but since we are going into the RSV season it will probably have to wait till next year.
Physical therapy is going good, Justin and I think Jonathan will benefit from a helmet so I will talk with early on in Sept. and see what we can do. Jonathan still is not holding his head up, he does hit his toys and kicks and stands with our help of course but has no interest in holding his head up, he did move at his own pace in the NICU which was slower than most I just have to be confident that he will succeed soon at this! Well enjoy our cranky pants pictures!

Constipation SUCKS!!!

So where do I start? Jonathan is doing good with therapy he is looking left and right is putting things in his mouth, after you put it in his hands. He is not holding his head up, so much for heads up at 4 months but I know he's a preemie and there are bound to be some delays its just in the back off my head, I know all babies develop differently! He is doing a little babbling he is big on smiling. he tries to laugh but what comes out is so soft and cute, he's starting to cry where you can actually hear it his cry is louder I never thought I would love to hear him cry! He is still off BP medication, we go back this wednesday to check it, we have an appointment with U of M for his hearing on the 30th!!! He is weighing 12 lbs 3 ozs As I last wrote he is on cereal(oatmeal) and eating a lot of it, so on friday I gave him 2ozs he ate it all! On sat. he slept all night getting up only once and then up at 10am back to sleep at 1130am then didn't get up till 3pm very weird for him, so of course i called the doc, since he didn't have any wet diapers the end result was they wanted us to come in at 430pm! Well at 330pm Jonathan smiled at me and it was everywhere poo from belly to toes he was back to my little baby, so I called the doc and told him what happened he asked, "how much cereal did you feed him?" He was floored he said that was way to much for him, how was I supposed to know, he ate it with no problem, so were back to 1/2 to 1oz, however it hasn't helped the constipation he arches his back, cries and so does his mommy and is just miserable for like 20 mins after eating, we see the ped. monday and see what we can do! He is starting to hit I don't know if that possible but if he doesn't want his bottle or he doesn't like you in his face he hits the bottle or your face, maybe he is just wanting to touch or he is just going to be a brut! He went into the lake for the first time he cried at first but didn't seem to care. We leave for Michigan adventure in 3 weeks we are staying at a resort and Jonathan's cousins are going to be there too, were going to have so much fun!

Giggles

Jonathan is getting so big, he is 11lbs 12ozs and 25 in. he is doing great at moving his head back and forth and he is starting to lift it more, he is very curious about whats going on around him, he is starting to giggle, which is just a hoot! He makes faces and loves oatmeal cereal(we found out he does not like rice cereal and that why all the tears during his feedings) if he's not cranky! He is sleeping better we have a routine so I think that helps and he loves to try and stand he is eating better not being such a grazer. We have gone to graduation parties, 4th of july parties and have been up north with both grandmas and papas! He is just loving the summer we are going to michigan adventure in 3 weeks then summer is almost over but I don't want to think of that, we are enjoying everyday! We are now off all, yes ALL medications!!!!!!! We seen the eye doctor and he thinks Jonathan will have to wear glasses but we wont know forsure until he is a year old and its not because he was a preemie but he is taking after mommy! He is cuter than ever and I have actually let him cry for more than a sec before picking him up I think I went for 1.5 mins but that all I could stand it was painful to see him try with all his might to get this itty bitty cry out but to tell you the truth his cries are getting louder! I will post some recent pics as soon as I get a minute but were headed out to go on the boat he loves the boat he falls asleep as long as daddy isn't going to fast:}

Yea Summer Time

Well lots are happening! Jonathan got dedicated at church then we had a small bbq after it was a beautiful day and everyone went swimming! Jonathan will now eat rice cereal just before bed which is nice cause he sleeps longer (yea for me)! He is bigger a whopping 11lbs 2 ozs he can now fit into 3 month clothes and he is 25 inches long and no waist so shorts and pants kinda fall off when you pick him up but has his daddy's shoulders for sure nice and broad, he's going to be a football player get a scholarship go to Michigan State and study to be a lawyer, ok so I am jumping the gun a little. He loves the outdoors looks at everything, loves the water is practically a fish we have only put his feet in the pool and he just smiles and tries to giggle but its not coming out yet! He does have a little of mommys temper and if he doesn't get his bottle in time he will let you know, he is very strong you really have to watch him he will kick his way out of anything! Even his ped. says he is very strong for his age but really he had to be look at everything he has gone through! He is rolling from front to back, is grabbing his toys and putting them in his mouth loves to chomp on them and loves his gums massaged I think its to early to be teething but his ped didn't think so, so maybe in a month we will have a tooth, I hope not he is growing up way way to fast! I looked at him the other day and just can't seem to grasp that he was only 1 lb 12 ozs he is doing so good, growing fast and starting to make little noises I am on the verge of crying again he is such a miracle. I don't know what I did before he was in my life, he is Justin and I's everything he has so many loved ones that care and continue to pray for him he is just perfect and I love him so much!