Wordless Wednesday

7 Months!

I'm 7 months old! My adjusted age is 3.5 months.

Our First Real Food!

Today we did our Sunday grocery shopping and picked up a few things to feed Walker!

I plan to make his food but wanted to buy one to see the consistency. I chose Earth's Best because there are only two ingredients and I can read them. He's only allowed to have vegetables and no sugars. This caused a problem when looking for food when R brought to my attention when picking up sweet potatoes that those are sugar. So we were both confused. I thought she (dietitian) meant sugar as in fruit. She wrote a list and I can't find it. So I have to wait until Tuesday to get a hold of her.

So we bought peas!

He LOVED them! So much so that he would cry would I took too long.

He is only allowed 1 tablespoon two times a day and R, after seeing Walker's enjoyment, has decided that is not enough. He tried bringing me the rest of the jar to feed him. Not going to happen buddy!

I'm not a rule follower but when it comes to food, you better bet your bottom dollar that I follow EVERY. SINGLE. RULE.  His daily intake is pretty serious. The dietician comes into the appointment with a calculator, asks a bunch of questions and then punches numbers for about a minute before letting us know whether it's good or bad.

We can't wait to watch him eat and try new things and see what he does and does not like.

GI Appointment

"Why is Donna mad at David?"

"What does forged checks means?"

Sometimes when Walker is fussy I put him in his Pack n' Play napper and put him in our bed. He falls right to sleep and wakes up so happy! We usually watch reruns of Beverly Hills 90210. There's something about Tori Spelling that makes Walker smile.

He's so damn cute! I couldn't help it!

Today we went to see Dr. Carter and Mrs. Laura. They were very happy with Walker's weight gain. He's 13.2 pounds and averaging 36 grams a day. We get to lower the TPN to 8 hours next shipment and we get to start solids! We are super excited! Protein and vegetables but no sugars. One tablespoon two times a day, I'll be making his food and can't wait to get started! He's also allowed to go up to 100ml for every bottle and then of course his snack of 20ml.

Since Walker is still on the study drug Omegavan they like to draw blood and record his levels. So after his appointment we were sent down to pathology. We had a nice room with this picture on the wall and I thought it was a sign that this was going to go pretty fast.

I was wrong.

These two idiots, seen below, could NOT find Walker's vein. They were digging the needle into his precious skin and he was not having it. She called in another woman who did the exact same thing but more forceful to the other arm. R was not happy and said, "Take it out. We're leaving". Clearly these women don't know how to draw blood.

Walker's little arm is so sensitive because of the second lady. I'll refrain from letting y'all know exactly how I feel about this lady.

Wordless Wednesday

First Time in the Bathtub

Because of Walker's broviac, he isn't allowed to be submerged in water. Well, this Momma got tired of is horrible diaper rash that wasn't going away, so I put him in the bathtub.

And he LOVED it! The only thing we have to do is not get the dressing wet. You see that circle thing? That's his antibiotic sponge-y thing and under it is the incision site. It still has sutures but this Friday will be 6 weeks and then we'll be able to give him a bath and get it wet.

This is what it looks like without the dressing.

The redness is from peeling off the dressing. It doesn't bother him.

He was kicking his feet and moving his arms and smiling!

So we've been putting him in his bathtub for the week and the other day he was really upset that he had to get out. He had a meltdown the size of Texas when I took him out. I was really afraid that he would not like water because he hasn't been in it before.

Walker and Tie Bear BFF's!

Tie Bear is my dog. I say "my" because he's the first dog that I ever solely took care of. He lived with me a short time in College Station while I lived with Walker's Auntie A. I've always been partial to him. When he's hurt, the world is ending. I was never scared of sharing my love between my dog and my baby. I still love my dog like I love my baby. I have enough love in my heart to give animals and babies.




When I was pregnant, my boy dogs, Tie and Buddy started to fight. A LOT! They have to go in shifts on who is out. We knew Buddy wasn't going to pay any attention to the baby because, well, he was our baby. But I knew Tie would love him. He loves babies. He's very protective of me and now W.









He walks with me in W's room in the morning to make sure everything is okay. When he cries he pulls his ears up and looks at me like "You hear him?". Before we put him in his kennel for the night he goes into his room. He loves him! And loves his bottles. He also tries to break the bathroom door down when I'm giving W a bath.

The picture below is hilarious! I gave W a bath and changed his poopy diaper in the bathroom. I guess I left it in there because while R was showering I hear Tie slowly walking around the house. Now usually this isn't good but when I looked up he had his eyes centered on me, gently holding the diaper in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet and cleared his throat. Then he jumped on the couch and went to sleep. I was dying with laughter! 

I'm so happy my boys love each other. I can't wait for Walker to chase Tie around the house. I'm sure Tie will lead Walker to places he's not supposed to be.

I Think We Just Went Through a Growth Spurt

He is like his Daddy in so many ways. He even sleeps like him.

The 3 month growth spurt to be exact. You're probably thinking, "you have a six month old, how is he going through a three month growth spurt?". Don't forget, developmentally, we go by his adjusted age which is 3 months.

Walker was sleepy but restless. He was hungry every hour throughout the day. He started waking up at 2:45 in the morning for three days straight. He would eat a little and then go to sleep for about 30 minutes.

And then today, he is a totally different baby! He is focusing more! He is smiling more! He LOVES his Baby Einstein jumper that R's coworkers bought him! And instead of just sitting in it, he's actually jumping. He is reaching for my face and hands.

He's also showing signs of pre-teething. His gums have become swollen and pinker. Instead of sucking on his pacifier he likes to bite down.

Wordless Wednesday

ROP Exam

So, last week at Walker's ophthalmologist appointment his ROP snuck up on us again in his left eye. We were pretty upset about that. The decision that laser eye surgery would need to be done to correct this was our only option. What happens with ROP is that the disease produces a mass amount of blood vessels that grow and grow and could pop the retina off causing permanent blindness.

And then Walker got sick with bronchiolitis. We had to get the okay from the pediatrician because he would have to go under anesthesia. We didn't get the okay because of his sickness and we were told 14 days on antibiotics and then we could discuss again. Only if it was an emergency. So, Dr. Steinkuller made us come back today. And the news is that his eye had improved and we don't need surgery! A blessing in disguise!

An infant eye exam is stressful. I can deal with seeing my baby moments after surgery in pain I can't even imagine, being stuck over and over again by needles, getting multiple shots, etc. BUT I can't handle seeing him get an eye exam. If you know Walker, you know that he has a soft cry. When they do what they do, I walk out of the room, and can hear my baby SCREAMING down the hall! What's extra sad is that before hand, Walker was smiling and talking and kicking on the exam table. He loves the sound of that paper they lay down.

Below is a picture. In the bag you see two instruments. The one that looks like an "A" is used to pry the eye open and keep it open. The straight tool is used to move the eye around. There's drops and saline and that magnifying thing is used to see behind the eye. 

 And the last picture I'm showing is my baby after everything happens. See how red he is? He is like that from head to toe! He's sweaty. And he does this cry. Oh this cry! It sounds like shivering. Breaks. My. Heart. I told my Bump friends, "If he could eat ice cream or chocolate or ride a horse, I would buy it for him after every one of these appointments". But he doesn't do any of those things. Instead, I allow him to rule the house. He makes his own schedule and his demands are always met. You want to wake up every hour? Sure thing baby. Whatever you want.

My 1st Mother's Day!

R and Walker took me out to dinner on Saturday night. It was so yummy and of course W was the perfect baby. Loud noises soothe him, so a busy restaurant puts him right to sleep.

I ended the night with a sleepy baby who of course loves having his head covered to fall asleep.

I woke up to a screaming baby. If you've ever heard Walker cry, you know it's pretty soft. Not Sunday morning. He was screaming! I thought I was sleep walking or that he was seriously hurt. It was neither. He was fine but wanted his Momma. Having R home this weekend really through Walker off his man-made schedule.  When R woke up he took Walker from me and disappeared from the room. They walked back in wearing these:

Way better than a card! I was very surprised. I also go a Kindle! YAY! R is so good to me and I was really surprised he spelled all the words right!

We got dressed and went to my parent's for our Mother's Day celebration.

Walker went through 3 outfits before we made it home 4 hours later. His body hates antibiotics. He has a killer diaper rash and spits up. He's taking 4 medicines but his doses are 6 times a day. He's not happy. So when we got home, Walker got a bath and we laid around in this cute assemble.

My first Mother's Day weekend was a success! I'll keep that onesie in his baby book forever. I love my husband for being so thoughtful in his gifts for me and spoiling me like usual.