Let's see how far we've come

When I look back on our first eight days at home as a whole, I feel a lot more optimistic about the weeks to come. Bryce's weekly weight gain of 5 ounces, while a bit short of the desired 7+, certainly isn't cause to sound the alarm. And speaking of alarms, though Bryce has unexpectedly set off his monitor a few times, we have yet to experience anything that warrants a call to the nurses, let alone 911. Perhaps it's just a matter of us adapting to his feeding style, but it seems like he has been waking to eat more consistently, and we're more confident that he can, and will, thrive at home. As Logan likes to say, "Baby Bice going grow big!"

I'd like to thank those of you who shared your own infant reflux experiences with us. Though reflux is very common amongst preemies, it is certainly a problem for many full-term babies as well. In fact, I often find myself wondering how many of Bryce's issues are prematurity-related, and how many are just things that we didn't experience with Logan.

We've been slowly introducing Bryce to the trappings of modern baby life. Thus far, Christie and I have been hesitant to leave him in a swing or bouncer, even though it might help to alleviate some of his irritability. As one of our dear readers correctly pointed out, our NICU experience has made us gun-shy. I'm afraid to let Bryce lie on my chest, let alone in a swing, because I know that something as innocuous as the beating of my heart can interfere with his apnea monitor. Also, we've been conditioned to position him in a way that facilitates breathing and minimizes choking/reflux, and it's hard to stop worrying about those things, even if he is starting to outgrow the need for them. Of course, it doesn't help that well-meaning medical authorities have both chastised us for not treating him like a normal baby and warned us that he may be blown over by the feeblest of sneezes.

I realized yesterday that it's been a while since I've uploaded a video, and I know it's hard to get a good sense of Bryce's personality from pictures alone, so I hope you'll enjoy our latest features (Tummy Time and Mat Play). Also, for the medically curious, you can pretty clearly see Bryce's cleft palate in the photo below (actually, you can only see the groove; the hole is near the front, and requires a flashlight to see).






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