Leaps and Bounds

Our sweet little boy continues to amaze us. I posted some pictures from a few weeks ago, where he is sitting in a Bumbo seat. He used to slump over to the right all the time because he wasn't strong enough to hold himself up. But now he does! He'll actually sit up in his seat and play with a toy. After a few minutes he starts to get tired and lean to one side, but he's made so much progress.

He also appears to be tolerating tummy time much better. The other day I helped him roll over, then laid on my tummy next to him. He just looked over at me and smiled before he got to work. His favorite thing to do on his tummy is draw his knees up underneath him, and then try to pick up his head. Gravity is not on his side in that position, but recently he was able to pick up his head that way. If we pull his legs out and get his hips flat on the ground, he can lift his head and keep it up for quite a while now. It's a little disheartening that he'll have surgery in a few weeks and not be able to be on his tummy for a while after that, so we'll probably lose some of this progress. But it's such an encouraging sign that he's made it this far. He'll get back here again.

His absolute favorite thing lately is to "be big." What do I mean by this? He loves to be upright! I pick him up to cradle him in my arms, and immediately he's doing a crunch, trying to sit up. He now likes to be held up at our shoulders, but he still prefers for us to sit him up in our arms so he can see us and the world. We've started propping up his Boppy pillow so he can sit almost upright in it. You should see the smiles we get when we put him there and tell him he's a big boy! He's obviously proud of himself and happy to be part of the upright world.

His weight gain has also taken a sudden leap. When I weighed him earlier this week he was closing in on 13 pounds already! He's developed little fat rolls on his thighs. He is now firmly in the 3-6 month clothing range, just in time for him to turn 6 months next week. On Thursday I was home with him for the day, and I took the opportunity to organize his clothes. It was so fun to get out all of the new outfits he'll soon fit into, but it was sad to pack away the ones he's grown out of. He'll never be my tiny newborn again. And that makes me doubly sad because I feel like I missed it when it was happening. I know I'm still grieving that loss, and maybe I always will. I hope his continued good health will help me heal.

His health does continue to seem good. He had some increased stuffiness for a while, but that seems to have dissipated. His 6 month checkup is this week, so we'll see what the pediatrician has to say. This is the doctor's office that consistently measures him big. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with this time.

Owen still isn't eating well from the bottle. He pretty consistently will take at least some, but only if he's truly hungry. If only we all could eat only when we're hungry! Maybe he has the right idea! We're starting in with rice cereal again, and Mark actually had a little bit of success today. We'll probably just have to offer it consistently so Owen will know it's a part of the routine. He doesn't seem to be averse to the food, but he does seem to be scared of the spoon. We plan to let him play with it and hopefully he'll get used to the way it feels in his mouth. We don't know how long he'll need the G-tube, but I plan to really start pushing the feeding issue after he's recovered from his next surgery. I imagine he'll have it at least through the winter, so that we can continue feeding him even if he gets sick or starts teething and won't eat. It's so important for him to get those calories.

And sadly, October 21st is rapidly approaching. I'm excited for him to get through this next stage, because it's one more step down and he should be stronger afterward. However, we are also terrified. It was difficult to hand him over for the first surgery, but we didn't know what it was like not to have him in the hospital yet, and we were still exhausted from him being born five days before. It was actually harder to hand him over for the recent catheterization, even though that was a far less serious procedure. He is now such a part of our everyday lives. Not having him here at the house is going to seem so wrong, whereas the first time around we didn't know yet what it was like to have a baby at home. We knew it wasn't normal that he was still in the hospital, but it was OUR normal.

Please pray for peace for us in the coming weeks as we prepare for Owen's next surgery. I can't speak for Mark, but I can feel myself becoming more tense as the time approaches. I have two doctor appointments this week; one of them is my first trimester screening appointment. Hopefully I will be able to post again soon with good news!